Sir, in mid-March when the lockdown began I was contacted by the NHS and notified that due to my diagnosis of Crohn's disease I had been placed in the highly vulnerable category and thus was advised to shield for 12 weeks.

Whilst the CDO issued guidance on 28 May 2020 that dentists will return to work on the 8 June in England there has been no guidance on how this applies to those, such as myself, who are in the shielded category.

The initial 12-week period of shielding is set to finish at the end of June, however, there are now suggestions that this will be extended further. Despite this, there has been no clarification as to whether this applies to all shielded individuals or whether this should be decided on a case by case basis on the advice of one's doctor (my own medical team have informed me they are unsure of how the shielding rules apply to dentists and have not received any further guidance on this matter to date).

As a general dental practitioner, I am anxious to get back to work and to provide a much-needed service to my patients and I am sure there are many colleagues who find themselves in the shielded category that share this sentiment. It would be much appreciated, therefore, if the CDO, NHS England or the BDA could consider cases of dentists, and other healthcare professionals, such as myself and issue further guidance as to when it is safe to return to practice.