Dentists in Scotland allowed to operate under new lockdown

The chief dental officer has confirmed that dentistry will continue under new lockdown restrictions.

In a letter to Scottish dentists, CDO Tom Ferris said patients were exempt from the stay-at-home rules if travelling for healthcare.

All dental procedures continue to be allowed on the NHS, although dentists are urged to postpone any “purely cosmetic dental treatment” unless it would improve oral health.

NHS dentistry services were allowed to resume in November 2020 after being halted due to the pandemic.

CDO Ferris said: “Whilst the further restrictions announced by the First Minister will not impact the range of dental care available to patients at NHS practices in mainland Scotland, due to social distancing and infection control arrangements, dental practices still only have a limited number of appointments each day.

“Priority is being given to people with urgent problems and treatments.”

To make an appointment, people are invited to call their dental practice or follow advice on the website and are urged not to go in person to book in.

Those who instead have an urgent dental problem and their dental practice is closed are asked to contact NHS 24 on 111.