Consultant in Restorative Dentistry

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is a recognised Cancer Centre providing comprehensive Head and Neck services (including major reconstruction with free flaps) under a specialised MDT and joint oncology clinics. These services are supported by Clinical Nurse Specialists, MacMillan Cancer Support, Speech & Language Therapists, Dieticians, Palliative and Hospice care, highly skilled Maxillofacial Prosthetics Team and the appointment of Consultant in Restorative Dentistry will ensure that our patients will receive perioperative care and oral rehabilitation of the highest standard. Orthodontic Department The Orthodontic service at New Cross A23 receives about 500+ complex orthodontic referrals from Wolverhampton and Black country region, and about 20% of these falls in the complex treatment category of IOTN 4h & 5h (Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need) on the national orthodontic commissioning criteria. This NHS category applies to children and adults who are missing adult teeth by birth (hypodontia), and therefore suffer with high negative impact on chewing function, speech, quality of life and aesthetics throughout life.

Such patients require a combination of braces and false teeth to help restore optimal oral function and aesthetics. In the hospital services, these patients require an MDT approach to overall care, and are therefore seen in joint orthodontic-restorative clinics for finalising a comprehensive oral-health care plan. Currently, these MDT patients are treated for braces at RWT, however, they are referred to the Birmingham Dental Hospital for their restorative phase at key stages at the start, mid-treatment and after braces are finished. Due to the limited capacity at BDH, currently our patients wait up to 1 year to be seen at the dental hospital for each of these key stages.

This significantly affects the patient experience, continuity of care, delays in communication between teams and fragmentation of the oral-health care pathway.