A ROMSEY dentist is helping residents with their teeth worries amid the coronavirus outbreak

Dr Kevin Hebenton, who works at Romsey Dental Care, is restricted in seeing patients due to the Covid-19 regulations for dentistry, so has found a way to work from home to put his expertise to good use.

Dr Hebenton has set up a virtual chat so people with dental worries or concerns can ask him for advice.

He has already reassured and helped a number of patients which can go a 'long way'.

The 35-year-old said: "The main reason I wanted to help people in this way is because I feel very strongly about my Duty of Care to people with dental pain or infection, who currently have little to no options.

"This has been caused by a directive from Public Health England telling dentists they should limit their practice's services and only offer Advice, Analgesics, and Antibiotics.

"Unfortunately, as anyone who's ever had toothache knows, they need their dentist to do some actual treatment.

"Dental practices are still important for front line healthcare, if somebody breaks an arm they still need to be seen, why should that be different to a severe and debilitating toothache?"

He said people can message him on Facebook but he can only give as much advice as he can up to a certain point.

Dr Hebenton has said he has helped a number of people already, including reassuring a mother about her daughter's new tooth issue, which was nothing to worry about.

One lady even said she was considering asking her husband to extract the tooth.

He added: "I understand social distancing but we are key workers in primary health care and so are prepared, with the right PPE, to deliver vital pain relieving treatment to patients.

"Dental practices are very important, we can treat patients in a safe, clean environment in a fast and efficient manner, reducing the need to travel and reducing the overall burden on our over-stretched NHS.

"I'm also concerned that serious health complications can arise from dental issues if they aren't treated promptly especially in the vulnerable groups - we have a lot of older patients here in Romsey."

Dr Hebenton said: "The main reason I am trying to help in this way is to stop people going to the hospital and allow the frontline NHS staff to dedicate their time and expertise to the patients who need lifesaving Covid-19 treatment."

If you have any concerns, worries or questions for Dr Kevin Hebenton, message Kevin Hebenton on Facebook and he will get back to you with a swift response.