Dentists ask for review

The BDA’s letter asks for the development of guidelines based on the current evidence base for decontamination, stressing the profession’s commitment to patient safety and its willingness to invest in pursuit of this goal. It also stresses the profession’s support for continuous improvements in decontamination standards and the importance of taking account of the impact of changes on the day-to-day working lives of practices and their patients.

Robert Kinloch, chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said: ‘Changes that are occurring to decontamination in dental practices in Scotland must assure the profession that their surgeries will be adhering to the highest standards of practice and provide peace of mind for patients. In implementing them we must be mindful patients are also taxpayers, ensuring that changes are based on sound evidence and justify the significant sums of money that practices will spend in implementing them. A review of decontamination of dental instruments by SIGN would provide assurance that changes are in patients’ best interests.’