COVID-19 case management in primary dental care settings in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Introduction Emerging guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic aimed to minimise transmission risk within dental settings. This service evaluation provides an overview of reported cases of COVID-19 among primary dental care staff within Yorkshire and the Humber.Methods Data for COVID-19 cases reported within dental practices between November 2020 and August 2021 were extracted from the Public Health England, Health Protection Zone database and summarised using descriptive statistics.Results In total, 421 cases across 223 dental practices were reported, with 221 close contacts and 77 outbreaks identified. Cases/contacts were highest among dental nurses (51/49%). Household and community (42/22%) were the most frequently reported sources of transmission, with the majority of staff-to-staff contacts (60%) occurring in communal/non-clinical areas.Discussion There was a low number of reported COVID-19 cases/contacts among dental professionals, with most cases suspected to have acquired the infection from outside of the dental setting. The majority of personal protective equipment breaches occurred within communal/non-clinical areas. When infection prevention and control guidance was followed, there were no incidences of staff or patients becoming contacts or cases.Conclusion With adherence to strict protocols, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the dental setting was low within the context of this review. The evaluation highlighted the importance of collaborative working during the pandemic.

The in-practice prevention programme: an example of flexible commissioning from Yorkshire and the Humber.

Introduction An In-Practice Prevention (IPP) programme was developed by the Local Dental Network in the North Yorkshire and the Humber area in England in response to an oral health needs assessment. The underpinning logic model drew on a flexible commissioning approach and aimed to incentivise dental teams with NHS contracts to promote the delivery of prevention. This used care pathways that involved the whole dental team and was cost-neutral.Aim The programme was evaluated using realist methodology to identify 'what works, in which circumstances, how and for who?'.Design Realist evaluations are explanatory in nature and attempt to understand the factors that appear to influence the success (or not) of an intervention, rather than demonstrating causality.Methods and results Following a review of the pertinent literature, semi-structured interviews and focus groups, five theory areas were considered to be critical to the delivery of IPP. In order of stated priority, these were: 1) clinical leadership; 2) 'skill mix'; 3) financial incentives; 4) institutional logic/practice culture; and 5) behaviour change.Conclusion The results appear to show that clinically-led programmes could offer value to dental commissioners within a flexible commissioning model, although this would need to be further tested using an experiment design.

Corrigendum: The Dental Team: An Additional Resource for Delivering Vaccinations.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2020.606242.].

A Local Dental Network Approach to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Innovation Through Collaboration.

STRUCTURE: We present the principles for selecting and initiating hubs, the integration with secondary care services and the supply of personal protective equipment. PROCESS: The main elements are communication, the development of referral processes to manage complex cases and data collection. OUTCOME: Through work with local dental stakeholders, 23 clusters and 36 hubs were set up covering a large geographical area.The integrated network of hubs and clusters has strengthened collaboration between providers and policy makers. Various leadership approaches facilitated the readiness for the transition to recovery. The new local collaborative structures could be used to support local programmes such as flexible commissioning, peer-led learning and integration with primary care networks.