We inspected Riverside dental practice on 4 October 2013. We looked at the records of four people in detail and spoke with them during their appointment. We met another two patients who were attending appointments. We spoke to four people over the telephone about their experiences.

We asked NHS Devon for their comments because they have a monitoring role in the commissioning of NHS dental care at this practice. NHS Devon reported there were no concerns with this practice.

Patients made positive comments about their experience of treatment at the dental practice. For example, a parent told us their child was “Not a good patient and the dentist handled it well, they were brilliant” with them. Another person said “The staff are lovely, I’m very satisfied”. We saw dentists always asked people about their health and explained treatment options with each person before starting.

The practice had systems in place which meant patients were safe and well cared for. For example, when commenting about infection control procedures one person told us “Everything they used came out of sealed bags and they wore gloves, masks and glasses which I was asked to wear also”.

Quality systems were followed to reduce potential risks for people using the service. However, we highlighted two areas for improvement covering infection control measures and recruitment evidence held for inspection and on-going employment purposes.