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For Patients

Your 1st appointment – You will be sent an appointment to attend the orthodontic new patient clinic.

You will first have to report to orthodontic reception. The receptionist will take your details and confirm your address and telephone contact numbers. They also require the details of your doctor and general dentist.  

An orthodontic assessment is very similar to a dental check up that you have at your dentist. You will usually be seen by a consultant orthodontist, but you may be assessed by an orthodontic registrar, working under the supervision of a consultant. Your first visit is nothing to worry about. We just want to meet you and look at your teeth. We won't be giving you a brace straight away and we won't be taking any teeth out!

​First of all, we'll count your teeth and maybe take an X-ray. We will then chat with you to try to find out what you think about the way your teeth look and how you feel about wearing a brace. This orthodontic assessment takes around 30 minutes.

Following your consultation you will either:

  • Be discharged from the orthodontic department and referred back to your dentist
  • Another appointment will be made to discuss your treatment further with our restorative or surgical teams.
  • An appointment will be made for you to attend our orthodontic education clinic prior to your name being added to our treatment waiting list  

As with other specialities in the hospital, new patient clinics are often very busy and you may not be seen at your exact appointment time. We always endeavour to see patients at their allocated appointment time but sometimes a delay is unavoidable and we will keep you informed of this.

Oral Education Clinic (OEC)

Following your orthodontic assessment you may be offered orthodontic treatment (braces) here in our department. If so, you will need to attend our nurse led Orthodontic Education Clinic.   

The aim of this clinic is to:

  • Instruct you how to clean your teeth effectively
  • Demonstrate how to care for your brace
  • Discuss the risks associated with treatment and they can be reduced​
  • Show you the sort of braces you will have
  • Ensure you are motivated for a long and complex course of treatment

At your first visit we will complete an oral health assessment and score the plaque on your teeth (with the aid of a disclosing solution).​

You may require one or two further appointments at this clinic in order to ensure your oral health is at the required standard for orthodontic appliances. If, at your third appointment, you fail to meet the required tooth brushing standard, you will not be offered treatment in the department as we feel that the risk to your teeth (due to poor cleaning) is too great.

As treatment often takes 2 years or more to complete we need to ensure that you have a consistently good standard of oral hygiene to help you avoid developing issues such as tooth decay, gum disease or permanent white and brown marks on your teeth.

The team will instruct you on the most effective way to look after your oral health and give you advice on dental care products. 

At this appointment, there will be a lot of speciality consultants and senior registrars discussing your treatment and coming up with the best possible treatment plan for you. This will all be explained to you and a plan will be made going forward. Please write down any questions you would like to ask and bring them to your appointment. This will be similar to your 1st appointment with us, as in it will be like a check up at your dentist. Please be aware for joint orthognathic clinics, a nurse will be taking your BMI, doing a body dysmorphia test and a smokerlyzer test as a routine part of the appointment.

At this appointment, you will have your braces put on! It is a straightforward appointment which usually takes around an hour and is not painful at all. The clinician will prepare your tooth for the brackets (squares), stick your brackets on, and then set them with a bright light to make them stay on your teeth. Once all of the brackets are on, a wire will be placed in the slots and then will be secured with some elastic colours. A starter pack can be purchased from the department which contains items to help with keeping your brace clean and some wax to help with any sore parts of the brace that rubs your cheeks while you are getting used to the braces.

Links to videos showing Stoke and County departments – TBC

Link to Autism Passport - https://www.uhnm.nhs.uk/media/0u2pyfxf/180515-hospital-passport-final.pdf