On the 5th January Broad Street Dental Surgery were accredited as a Denplan Excel dental practice. In this day and age of regulation, CQC and with an emphasis now strongly weighted on prevention and educating patients we felt that the Denplan Excel programme with it’s DEPPA assessment tool would suit the practice perfectly.
The DEPPA assessment tool provides an instantaneous online report showing the patient’s Oral Health Score (OHS) alongside a detailed (and evidence based) assessment of their future risk for caries, periodontal disease, tooth surface loss and oral cancer.
The simple colour coded system clearly show the risk level of the patient and also provides general advice. DEPPA provides an additional tool for the general dental practitioner to communicate effectively with each patient and can be used to reinforce good habits as well as encouraging change. It seems very similar to the NHS pilots currently being trailed and reinforces the need for the need to risk assess each patient. from a Medico-legal angle providing a detailed DEPPA assessment of each patient outlining their Caries, Periodontal, Tooth wear and Oral Cancer risk would be a very useful adjunct to any clinical records.
During the Denplan Excel Accreditation process, practice policies, cross-infection protocols and procedures, clinical records, treatment planning, IR(ME)R, health and safety and CPD were all examined in some detail. This provided an excellent preparation for future CQC inspections and also provided us with excellent feedback that we were operating at “best practices” standards.
For any practice involved with Denplan and considering the Excel programme, I would recommend it. It has helped to develop and grow the practice by attracting new patients and enabling broad Street Dental Practice to stand out a little from the crowd!