The BDA Good Practice Scheme

We are pleased to announce that Tiverton, Cullompton, and Holmead Dental Centres have been awarded the BDA Good Practice.

The Good Practice Scheme is an independent recognition scheme to show patients that their practice is committed to a standard of good practice set by the profession’s own national association.

The following are the commitments the practice has undertaken.

1. We aim to provide dental care of consistently good quality for all patients
2. We only provide care that meets your needs and wishes.
3. We aim to make your treatment as comfortable and convenient as possible.
4. We look after your general health and safety while you are receiving dental care.
5. We follow the British Dental Association’s guidelines on infection control.
6. We check for mouth cancer and tell you what we find.
7. We take part in continuing professional development to keep our skills and knowledge up to date.
8. We train all staff in practice-wide work systems and review training plans once a year.
9. We welcome feedback and deal promptly with any complaints.
10. Every member of the practice is aware of the need to work safely under General Dental Council guidelines.

Details of the Scheme

The BDA Good Practice scheme was set up by the British Dental Association in February 2003 as a quality mark for dental practices

The scheme sets a nationally recognized standard of care by improving the quality of information about NHS and private treatment and making the cost and nature of the care readily available to patients.

Importantly it ensures that dentists communicate better with their patients and explain in a language that everyone can understand what treatment has been agreed and the cost implications.

The BDA Good Practice is a self-assessment audit, where everyone in a practice has to sign up to ten commitments about how patients are looked after and how the practice is managed. To comply with each commitment the practice has to prove they can meet a number of standards.

The scheme has been developed in liaison with the Patients' Association to underline the profession's clear commitment to patient care.

The commitment to good practice is ongoing and successful practices are awarded a plaque to demonstrate membership of the scheme and a commitment to quality, comfort and safety in dentistry for both patients and staff.