A dental payment plan specialist has invested £2 million to deliver PPE in a bid to help its member dentists get back to work.
Denplan, part of Simplyhealth, pledged the funds to demonstrate its ongoing support for its dentists and the care of their patients.
Routine dentistry has been on hold since late March, with the date of return still up in the air as the UK begins to navigate its way out of lockdown.
The provider is currently in final stage talks with dental suppliers to help create an efficient process to get essential PPE to their member practices.
Denplan members will be given a fund – based on their patient numbers – which can be used to order crucial equipment directly from a supplier.
Reopen safely
Its investment comes as private dentistry fights to get back to work as many watch their incomes plummet to zero.
Denplan hopes it will help dental practices ‘survive in these difficult times, make sure they can reopen safely, and also to ensure that their patients are confident to start attending appointments again’.
Catherine Rutland, clinical director at Denplan, said it hopes to support members in returning to work.
She said: ‘This is a difficult time for the whole dental profession.’
‘Our aim is to support our members in returning to practice by providing the standard of guidance that they expect from us, to provide safe practice and the PPE to enact that.
‘We have also been working closely with our members to provide clinical and business guidance to help them return to work once all official government guidelines can be adhered to safely.
‘We have always strived to create a partnership with our members. Additionally, we have worked hard to ensure we provide added value services from our clinical team and our dedicated business consultants to contribute to a successful dental practice for the long term.’
Denplan has more than two million customers with around 6,700 member dentists. It also serves more than 2,700 companies with Denplan employee benefit schemes.
Find out more about Dentistry’s Back to Practice campaign.
