Rapid response: activity from a hospital based Urgent Dental Care Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic

On 23rd March, the UK Government announced a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the unequivocal and absolute cessation of all elective dental treatment. With much conflicting evidence on best practice to deliver safe treatment comprising of emergency dento-alveolar surgery, this paper describes the protocols which were undertaken to successfully set up a novel Urgent Dental Care Centre (UDCC) service within a short timeframe. We present patient data from referral through to treatment for the entire ten-week period of operation. A UDCC was established at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup within 10 days of this announcement. Through an iterative process with minor stakeholders and in collaboration with our Local Dental Committee, a comprehensive urgent dental service was established. Our UDCC received 1,311 referrals within a 10-week period, with 884 patients being accepted for treatment. The majority of treatment delivered in this emergency setting was surgical dento-alveolar procedures (84%). Sixteen per cent of patients attended for trauma, first stage restorative treatment for teeth and postoperative complications. Both aerosol and non-aerosol generating procedures were available to patients. Preventing acute hospital admissions relies on the ability to provide safe dento-alveolar surgery. Our results advocate that our unique UDCC is efficient and provides appropriate patient access and outcomes for those most in need of urgent dental treatment in the face of a pandemic.