Orthodontics
Advice for patients undergoing orthodontic treatment at Walsall Manor Hospital during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The service has now started to recommence orthodontic appointments.
You will be contacted to arrange an appointment as soon as the service is able to see you. It is likely to be a few months before normal service arrangements are resumed. Please continue to monitor this page for updates.
In an emergency, you should contact the department so that the team can triage your orthodontic emergency.
Please provide the following details:
- Your full name
- Date of birth
- Contact telephone number
- Name of clinician you normally see: (Miss Byrne, Mrs Church, Miss Desai, Miss Jesani, Miss Visram, Miss Chawla)
The British Orthodontic Society (BOS) are providing useful and up to date advice. To keep up to date with UK guidance we encourage you to check the website or follow the BOS Facebook posts.
Please use this website to help you if you are currently having brace treatment here at Walsall Manor Hospital. It provides useful information about your future appointments, your brace, how to keep up to date with information and how to look after your brace. There is a useful section with frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help answer questions you may have about problems with your brace. There are also contact details for the department in case you need any further help that is not covered in the website.
If you have any concerns about your brace, we are happy to talk you to you to offer advice. Our contact details are at the bottom of this page. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions for answers to some common queries.
It is important you look after your brace until we can see you again. This will make sure that you get the best possible outcome from your treatment. There are some tips below.
It is possible that your treatment will take longer. We hope that you understand that your health and wellbeing are our priority and we will see you again as soon as we can.
As recommended by the UK government, we are only able see people who need emergency treatment. The team can talk to you about whether you need to come in. Please do not come to the department unless you have been told it is necessary.
If you do need to come to see us, we kindly request the following:
- Please do not bring more than one person with you. If you are happy to come on your own, this would be best.
- Please do not bring any elderly or vulnerable relatives.
- Please let us know if you or anyone in your household has had a cough or temperature or other flu-like symptoms in the last 14 days.
- Please arrive at the time of your appointment to avoid crowding the waiting room.
- Please wash your hands or use alcohol gel when you arrive and leave the department.
For all patients, we will follow strict infection prevention protocols. Please do not be worried if we are wearing masks and goggles that you have not seen before.
There is further information and videos to help you look after your brace and manage any brace problems on the British Orthodontic Society website
There are patient information videos on how to self-manage a number of problems and a fact sheet about managing orthodontic emergencies
We recommend contacting the orthodontic department before you attempt to fix any problems yourself, as there is a risk you might damage your brace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possible problems with your brace:
– Something on my brace is loose.
If part of your brace has snapped or become loose, you only need to contact us if it is painful or there is a danger of you inhaling it. If it is not causing you any pain, we can fix your brace next time we see you.
– My brace is rubbing.
Please email us and we can post you out some wax to put on the bit that is rubbing you.
– I have run out of elastics.
Please email us and we can post you out some more elastics if we feel that you need to continue to wear these.
– I don’t know if I need to wear my elastics.
If you are not sure whether to wear your elastics, please email us and we can arrange a telephone consultation with an orthodontist.
– I was due to have my fixed braces removed. Do I need to come in?
Unfortunately we cannot provide any non-urgent treatment at this time. We will be in touch as soon as we can see you to remove your brace. Please make sure you look after your brace to avoid damage to your teeth or brace.
– Should I keep wearing my removable brace?
If you are not sure whether you need to wear your removable brace, please email us and we can arrange a telephone consultation with an orthodontist.
Orthodontic clinics generally operate between the hours of 9am – 5pm, but the availability of appointments is dependent on the timetable of the individual consultant.
Outpatient and Day Case Centre – hospital route 007
Walsall Manor Hospital
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
Moat Road
Walsall
West Midlands
WS2 9PS
Orthodontic Staff
Referrals
Referrals are only accepted from a General Dental Practitioner (GDP) or another healthcare professional.
If you are having any problems with your brace and you would like advice, please email us on ortho.walsall@nhs.net and someone from the team will get in touch.
If you are a patient in the department and have any queries, someone in the team will be able to help.
Please email us and we aim to respond within two working days. Please provide your full name and date of birth and telephone number. Alternatively, if you cannot email us, please telephone 01922 721172 Ext 6990 or 6971.