We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 21 January 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

The Tooth Spa is situated in the Chapel Allerton area of Leeds, West Yorkshire. It offers only private dental treatments to both adults and children. The services include preventative advice and treatment, general and cosmetic dentistry, domiciliary visits, orthodontics and emergency access for non-registered patients. They also offer direct access for dental hygiene services. Direct access means giving patients the option to see a dental care professional (DCP) without having first seen a dentist and without a prescription from a dentist.

The practice opened in 2014 and is currently building up a patient list. They also accept referrals from other practices.

The practice has two surgeries, a decontamination room, one waiting area and a reception area. All facilities are on the ground floor of the premises and there are accessible toilet facilities. The practice is fully accessible for those in a wheelchair.

There are three dentists, a dental hygiene/therapist, a receptionist and a practice manager/owner. Both the receptionist and the practice manager/owner are qualified dental nurses. They also have access to other dental nurses through the locum agency owned by the practice owner.

The opening hours are Monday to Saturday 9-00am to 5-30pm. Apoointments are also available in the evening and Sundays by appointment only.

The practice owner is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

On the day of inspection, 19 patients provided feedback. The patients were positive about the care and treatment they received at the practice. They told us they were treated with dignity and respect in a clean and tidy environment. Patients also commented that the staff are helpful, extremely professional and that it was easy to get an appointment at a time which suited them.

Our key findings were:

• The practice was clean and hygienic.
• The practice had systems in place to assess and manage risks to patients and staff including infection prevention, control and health and safety and the management of medical emergencies.
• Staff were suitably qualified and had received training appropriate to their roles.
• Patients were involved in making decisions about their treatment and were given clear explanations about their proposed treatment including costs, benefits and risks.
• Oral health advice and treatment were provided in-line with the ‘Delivering Better Oral Health’ toolkit (DBOH).
• We observed that patients were treated with kindness and respect by staff. Staff ensured there was sufficient time to explain fully the care and treatment they were providing in a way patients understood.
• Patients were able to make routine and emergency appointments when needed.
• The practice had a complaints system in place which was easily accessible to patients.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Make the X-ray audit practitioner specific.
• Make the sharps injury procedure more visible in the surgery.
• Make the clean and dirty zones in the surgery easier to identify.
• Document when policies have been reviewed.