Due to Australia’s continued success in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak, restrictions are being lessened further. This means that we are now able to provide all dental services to our lovely patients as we once did! Of course, we will still be maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene practices for all patients whilst you are in our shared areas (eg the waiting room), but all dental treatments are now able to carry on as usual. We will still be continuing to screen all patients over the phone, and we kindly ask that if you or anyone in your immediate circle are unwell in any way or are feeling any cold or flu-like symptoms to please refrain from coming for your dental treatment until all symptoms have resolved. This is not just to do with COVID-19, but also for our regular cold and flus so that we can keep our staff and other patients healthy. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

What does this mean for our patients?

We may perform simple dental cleans, BUT we can only HANDSCALE your teeth to clean them, not use our ultrasonic scalers. We will most likely continue to delay these procedures until all restrictions are lifted to minimise viral exposure

We can do basic removal of teeth when required, BUT are unable to do SURGICAL or complex extractions and will still have to refer these out to our local oral surgeon specialists

We can do needed restorative work (ie fillings), such as restoring broken teeth or replacing existing fillings, BUT have to do all treatment under what we call a ‘rubberdam’. A rubberdam is a rubber (either latex or non-latex) sheet we put a small hole in and pop the affected tooth through and use a small clamp to keep it in place. This way we can isolate the tooth from the rest of the mouth and minimise the spread of aerosols and saliva.

We can carry out basic denture work and repairs

We can assess any jaw pain or soft tissue / gum issues that you may be experiencing

At this stage we will be opening Monday to Friday only and for shorter business hours while we all adjust to this next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any patients that had their appointments delayed may receive a call from one of our lovely reception staff to see if you would like to come in sooner if your required treatment falls under the new practicing guidelines. However, we as a practice will continue to try and play our part in keeping the ‘curve flat’, and will still focus mainly on urgent dental care at this time. We understand that many of you have also been going through hardship (financially, mentally, physically) or may have children you are home schooling at this time, so we understand it may take time before you are able to come in and see us again.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has reached a very serious state in our country. Due to the nature of dental treatment and the high risk of exposure to the virus, we (along with our governing bodies in Australia) have decided to close Richmond Road Dental for the foreseeable future.

It is with heavy hearts that we deliver this news, not only because of the direct effect on our beautiful dental family, but also due to our concern that we will not be available to see and support our wonderful patients and community when we are needed. However, the health and safety of our staff, patients and greater community are at the forefront of this decision, and that must take top priority. We care too much to risk the health (and lives) of those we care for most – ALL OF YOU!

COVID-19 is affecting us all, and our thoughts are with each and every one of you. We hope you are all managing to stay safe during this uncertain time, and hope that you are all looking after your physical and mental well being. We are saddened to have to take these measures, but know we must play our part in flattening the curve.

We thank you all – both our exceptional staff members and our star patients – for supporting us through these trying times. We look forward to reconnecting with each and every one of you once the world is calm once more.

Stay safe.