We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Talking Teeth Dental Practice Ince on 18 February 2015.

The practice offers mainly NHS treatment services for its patient population but they do provide some private treatment such as dental implants. Talking Teeth Dental Practice Ince has one associate dentist, four qualified dental nurses and a trainee dental nurse who is also the receptionist. At the time of our inspection there were two dentists on duty with an associate from another practice in the group to meet the demands of the patient population.

The practice is currently in the process of changing their registered manager, who will be legally responsible for making sure the practice meets the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act as the registered manager.

We spoke with three patients who used the service on the day of our inspection and reviewed 29 CQC comment cards that had been completed by patients prior to the inspection. The patients we spoke with were very complimentary about the service. They told us they found the staff to be extremely friendly and welcoming and felt they were treated with respect. The comments on the CQC comment cards were also very complimentary about the staff and the service provided.

During the inspection we toured the premises and spoke with the owner who is registered as the provider, the area manager and three other staff on duty that day. This included one other dentist on duty. To assess the quality of care provided by the practice, we looked at practice policies and protocols and other records. Our key findings were as follows:

• There were systems in place for staff to report incidents. There were sufficient staff on duty to deliver the service. There was enough equipment available for staff to undertake their duties and we saw the premises was maintained to a good standard and clean and tidy.
• Patient’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current guidance. This included the promotion of good oral health. We saw evidence staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs were identified and planned through the appraisal process.
• The patients we spoke with and all the comment cards we reviewed indicated that patients were consistently treated with kindness and respect by staff. It was reported that communication with patients and their families, access to the service and to the dentists, was good. Patients reported good access to the practice with emergency appointments available the same day.
• The practice had procedures in place to take into account any comments, concerns or complaints that were made to improve the practice.
• The practice had an accessible and visible leadership team. Staff on duty told us they felt supported by the leadership team. Staff reported that patients were at the heart of the practice. This included the promotion of good oral health. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and there was an effective appraisal system in place.