The Care Quality Commission
  • Dentist
  • Dentist

Love Teeth Dental

743 London Road, Cheam, Sutton, Surrey, SM3 9DL (020) 8337 0629

Provided and run by:
Dr Kunal Patel

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

8 February 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this announced focused comprehensive inspection on 8 February 2022 under section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission, (CQC), inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we usually ask five key questions, however due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce time spent on site, only the following three questions were asked:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Our findings were:

  • The practice appeared to be visibly clean and well-maintained.
  • The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
  • The provider had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
  • The provider had safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
  • The provider had staff recruitment procedures which reflected current legislation.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Staff provided preventive care and supported patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The provider had effective leadership and a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Staff felt involved and supported and worked as a team.
  • The provider had information governance arrangements.

Background

Love Teeth is in the London borough of Sutton and provides private dental care and treatment for adults and children.

There is level access to the practice for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available at the practice and also on surrounding roads.

The dental team includes a principal dentist, eight associate dentists, four dental nurses, eight trainee dental nurses, three reception staff, two practice managers and three dental hygienists. The practice has six treatment rooms.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, both practice managers, one dental nurse and one of the receptionists. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open:

8.00am to 4.00pm Monday and Tuesday

8.00am to 3.00pm Wednesday

9.00am to 6.00pm Thursday

9.00am to 2.00pm alternate Fridays

20 November 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out this announced inspection on 20 November 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was led by a CQC inspector who was supported by a specialist dental adviser.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

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

Love Teeth Dental is in Cheam in the London borough of Sutton and provides private and NHS treatment to adults and children.

The practice is set out over two floors. There is one surgery on the ground floor and two on the first floor. There is level access for people who use wheelchairs and those with pushchairs. Car parking spaces are available at the practice as well as on local road close by.

The dental team includes three dentists, two dental nurses, a trainee dental nurse, two dental hygienists, two receptionists and a practice manager. The practice has three treatment rooms and a separate decontamination room.

The practice is owned by an individual who is the principal dentist there. They 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, we collected 15 CQC comment cards filled in by patients.

During the inspection we spoke with three dentists, two dental nurses, the trainee dental nurse, the receptionist and the practice manager. We looked at practice policies and procedures and other records about how the service is managed.

The practice is open: 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am to 4.30pm on Fridays.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice appeared clean and well maintained.
  • The practice had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
  • Staff knew how to deal with emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available, although some items were missing.
  • The practice had systems to help them manage risk.
  • The practice staff had suitable safeguarding processes and staff knew their responsibilities for safeguarding adults and children.
  • The practice had staff recruitment procedures.
  • The clinical staff provided patients’ care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
  • Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
  • The practice was providing preventive care and supporting patients to ensure better oral health.
  • The appointment system met patients’ needs.
  • The practice had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
  • Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
  • The practice asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
  • The practice dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
  • The practice had suitable information governance arrangements.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

  • Review the practice’s sharps procedures to ensure the practice is in compliance with the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013, in particular having a comprehensive sharps risk assessment in place.