The Department of Health and Social Care’s Dental Service has been recognised by the British Dental Association (BDA) with a Good Practice award.

An assessment by the BDA in October this year considered the service against a comprehensive range of standards covering all aspects of safety and quality in patient care.

It is a specialist service, providing care for a range of patients with additional needs and urgent care for patients who don’t have their own dentist, as well as hosting some of the orthodontic service in Noble’s Hospital. There are clinics in Douglas, and the Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital.

Senior dentist Nigel Armstrong said: “Our dedicated team of dentists, nurses and reception staff have all contributed to this achievement and recognise that our patients benefit from the high standards we follow in areas as diverse as promoting good oral health, staff development and continuous service improvement”.

In offering his congratulations Minister Howard Quayle MHK said: “Whilst recognising the significant effort involved in gaining this award, I am also pleased to see how the work of this service is linked to the strategic goals of the Department of Health and Social Care, in both ensuring patients are receiving good value oral health care and encouraging people to take greater responsibility for their own dental health”.