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A new free-to-use Fallow Time Calculator has been launched to enable dental professionals to determine, justify and record the fallow period necessary following dental procedures carrying a
higher risk of exposure to potentially-infectious aerosols. Built by digital consent platform Flynotes, supported by Practice Plan and Wesleyan, and endorsed by the Chief Dental Officer for
England, the new tool complements the COVID-19 guidance published by the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP[UK]) and the College of General Dentistry (CGDent), the recent update of
which incorporates the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) recommendations on fallow time. Public Health England guidance currently recommends a fallow period of 60
minutes in a treatment room with less than ten air changes per hour from the point that an aerosol-generating procedure is completed. The FGDP-CGDent guidance recommends that practitioners
justify any decision to stray from this, record factors which allow reduction of the time, and include details in the clinical record for each patient. The Fallow Time Calculator is designed
to facilitate this process, and is based on SDCEP's multifactorial approach to determining fallow time. Set out in its recent publication, _Mitigation of aerosol generating procedures
in dentistry - a rapid review_, this sets a 'benchmark' time of 15-30 minutes, which will vary dependent on the type and length of procedure, the employment of procedural
mitigations such as high-volume suction and rubber dam, and the availability of environmental mitigations such as air ventilation. Available at www.myftc.co.uk, the Fallow Time Calculator
also offers a full audit trail, updated regularly in accordance with the guidelines, which practices can use to aid diary planning, allowing efficient patient treatment flows whilst ensuring
necessary fallow periods are implemented. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Dental Fallow Time Calculator launched. _Br Dent J_ 229, 511
(2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-2309-9 Download citation * Published: 23 October 2020 * Issue Date: October 2020 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-2309-9 SHARE THIS
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