Feniton Dental Practice is a small dental practice with a single dental surgery. The surgery serves the local village and surrounding area. A few patients travel from further away as they told us they wished to remain with a dentist they trusted. One person told us, “I find the dentist offers an excellent service, I live over half an hour’s drive away but it’s worth it. We’ve built up a mutual trust.”

We found that patients were respected and involved in their treatment. They were provided with information relevant to their needs both within the practice and from their website. Patient privacy was respected.

Patients care and treatment was based on a full mouth assessment. Treatment was provided in line with treatment plans which patients signed and appointments were made at times convenient to the patient.

The surgery appeared clean and tidy. One patient told us “It always looks clean here and makes me ashamed to go back home!”. There were practices in place to ensure the surgery area was cleaned between patients as well as at the end of each day. Dental equipment was cleaned in a way which demonstrated compliance with current department of health guidelines.

Recruitment was carried out in a way which ensured staff were suitably knowledgeable and experienced to fulfil their role. All staff had received a disclosure and barring service check and all clinical staff were registered with the General Dental Council.

The practice was changing from paper records to a computer based record system. The records we looked at were accurate and fit for purpose. Records relating to the running of the practice were up to date and reviewed by the providers’ staff.