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The fact that you are being treated by a Denplan Excel Quality Assured dentist means that you will experience the highest standards of care and professionalism available today.
Quality dental care assured
Your dentist recognises that you deserve the best dental care and is working harder than ever to make sure you receive it.
To demonstrate this commitment to quality, your dentist has joined the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme which ensures that theyíre committed to a set of exacting standards in the dental care and service they provide to you.
What can I expect?
The Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme aims to improve communication between you and your dentist. You will receive information about your dental care and dental treatments available and will be involved in any decisions made about the dental care of your teeth and gums.
The Patients Association has worked closely with dentists and Denplan to support the development of the programme and believes that it offers significant benefits for both dentists and patients.
This is the only programme officially approved by the Patients Association.
Better evaluation
What's an Oral Health Score©?
Denplan Excel dentists use an innovative system for reviewing the health of your teeth and mouth. It's called the Oral Health Score©.
Your dentist will assess key aspects of your oral health, checking the health of your gums and whether any of your teeth are showing signs of wear. They'll also ask you about your oral health and how you would like it to change.
Using a consistent set of calculations, your dentist will produce an overall 'score', out of 100, which indicates how healthy your mouth is. The higher the score the better your oral health is. You will be given an Oral Health Score© card which clearly explains what your score is.
This process is ongoing and your score will be updated on future visits. Use of the Oral Health Score© helps your dentist evaluate the effectiveness of treatment provided. It helps you understand how your oral health is changing and what steps could be taken to improve it.
Improved communication
How will I be kept informed?
An important part of the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme is to improve communication between you and your dentist. By joining the programme, your dentist has committed to keep you well informed about your oral care and dental treatment.
To help achieve this, Patient Information Leaflets (in association with the BDHF) provide clear, easy and understandable information about many different types of oral care and dental treatment. What's more, you can take them away from the practice to read at your leisure.
When deciding the right course of dental treatment for you, your dentist will always fully explain the situation, discuss the options and take your desires and opinions into account.
 Meeting quality standards
Who checks that my dentist is providing quality dental care
Every 18 months an independent dental advisor will visit your practice to ensure that all the standards of the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme are being met. The advisor will also check that it's complying with statutory regulations and recommendations for best practice in dentistry.
These visits are unique to the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme and provide assurance that your dentist is giving you the best dental care and service available and that they are committed to an ongoing programme of improvement.
Your opinions count
Receiving dental care from a Denplan Excel dentist means that you will have the chance to give your feedback on the dental care and service you receive.
Regular Patient Satisfaction Surveys are conducted and you may be invited to take part. You will be given a questionnaire asking how satisfied you are with various aspects of your dental care and the quality of the service you receive. They are totally confidential and your individual responses will not be seen by your dentist.
The surveys - the largest undertaken in the dental profession - are managed by an independent market research company who analyse the results and prepare reports for your dental practice.
Practice Commitment
What is my dentist committing to by joining the programme?
Any dentist can apply to join the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme. However, before they become accredited they must demonstrate that they are meeting certain standards and adhere to the Practice Commitment:
- We commit to the measurement of clinical effectiveness and oral health and ensure this is communicated to patients*, both individually and as a group
- We will ensure patients* know what is being done and why, to support their oral health
- We will know and fully record the state of the oral health of all our patients* and involve patients'* fully in decisions regarding their ongoing dental care and dental treatment
- We care what our patients* feel and think about the practice and will listen and act upon their views and opinions
- We are committed to opening our practice and procedures to regular independent monitoring and to act upon the results
- We practise using the most appropriate procedures and dental knowledge to ensure both the dentist and practice team are up to date with the latest dental and customer care techniques
*and to parents/carers as appropriate, where the patient is a child
denplan & excel for children
 Younger patients need special dental treatment
Your dentist knows that younger patients need special care because they have their whole lives ahead of them.
Although dental health in Britain has improved in the last 20 years, did you know that a third of five year olds# and half of all 15 year olds already have some tooth decay†
Your dentist is part of a group of dentists across the country who have committed to help younger patients have 'a smile for life'.
Denplan Excel for Children is an innovative programme to help dentists and their younger patients achieve this. Your dentist is working with experts in children's dentistry in the UK and across the world, to provide the best dental treatment and advice for younger patients.
Please do ask any of the dental practice team or Denplan if you have any further questions.
#Source: UK Children's Dental Health Survey 2007/2008.
†Source: UK Children's Dental Health Survey 2003.
What your child will get:
Oral Wellbeing Score© for Children
We'll ask you either as a younger patient or parent/carer on your child's behalf, some questions on how they feel about their teeth and smile. This is called the Oral Wellbeing Score© for Children.
The Oral Wellbeing Score© has been developed by child dental experts to combine four measures of lifelong oral health that cannot be revealed by a dental check-up alone.
The score is out of 100, and the higher the score, the more positive the wellbeing.
Your dentist will explain any aspect of the score, it won' be repeated at every examination, but at intervals decided by your dentist as most appropriate for your child.
Oral Health Score© for Children
The dentist will also give you or your child a score out of 100 which will help you know how healthy your mouth or your child's mouth is and what you could do to improve it.
The Oral Health Score© for Children will provide you with a way of monitoring how you or your child's oral health changes over time and allow the dentist to identify what can be done to improve it.
Practice Commitment
What is my dentist committing to by joining the programme?
Any dentist can apply to join the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme. However, before they become accredited they must demonstrate that they are meeting certain standards and adhere to the Practice Commitment:
- We commit to the measurement of clinical effectiveness and oral health and ensure this is communicated to patients*, both individually and as a group
- We will ensure that patients* know what is being done and why, to support their oral health
- We will know and fully record the state of the oral health of all our patients* and involve patients'* fully in decisions regarding their ongoing dental care and dental treatment
- We care what our patients* feel and think about the practice and will listen and act upon their views and opinions
- We are committed to opening our practice and procedures to regular independent monitoring and to act upon the results
- We practise using the most appropriate procedures and knowledge to ensure both the dentist and practice team are up to date with the latest dental and customer care techniques
*and to parent/carers as appropriate where the patient is a child
Improved communication
How will I be kept informed?
An important part of the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme is to improve communication between you and your dentist. By joining the programme, your dentist has committed to keep you well informed about your oral care and dental treatment.
To help achieve this, Patient Information Leaflets (in association with the BDHF) provide clear, easy and understandable information about many different types of oral care and dental treatment. What's more, you can take them away from the practice to read at your leisure.
When deciding the right course of dental treatment for you, your dentist will always fully explain the situation, discuss the options and take your desires and opinions into account.
Meeting quality standards
Who checks that my dentist is providing quality dental care?
Every 18 months an independent dental advisor will visit your practice to ensure that all the standards of the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme are being met. The advisor will also check that it's complying with statutory regulations and recommendations for best practice in dentistry.
These visits are unique to the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme and provide assurance that your dentist is giving you the best dental care and service available and that they are committed to an ongoing programme of improvement.
Your opinions count
Receiving dental care from a Denplan Excel Accreditation dentist means that you'll have the chance to give your feedback on the dental care and service you receive.
Regular Patient Satisfaction Surveys are conducted and you may be invited to take part. You will receive a questionnaire asking how satisfied you are with various aspects of your dental care and the quality of the service you receive. They are totally confidential and your individual responses will not be seen by your dentist.
The surveys - the largest undertaken in the dental profession - are managed by an independent market research company who analyse the results and prepare reports for your dental practice.
denplan & excel statement of principles
We confirm our willingness to be involved in the Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme and confirm that we have read, understood and will commit to a consistent Statement of Principles:
- We commit to the measurement of clinical effectiveness and oral health and ensure this is communicated to patients*, both individually and as a group
- We will support patients* in knowing what is being done and why to ensure their best opportunity for improving oral health
- We will know and fully record the state of the oral health of all our patients* and involve patients* fully in decisions regarding their ongoing care and treatment
- We care what our patients* feel and think about the practice and will listen and act upon their views and opinions
- We are committed to opening our practice and procedures to regular independent monitoring and to act upon the results
- We undertake to practise using the most appropriate procedures and dental knowledge and to ensure both the dentist and practice team are up-to-date with the latest dental and customer care techniques.
*and parents/carers as appropriate, where the patient is a child.
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