Orthognathic surgery follow up appointments

joannaber

my daughter had Orthognathic surgery in December 2019 and had several follow up appointments so far. She has been seeing her NHS orthodontist every 4 weeks. She is wearing braces and needs several more follow up appointments to adjust them before they can be taken out. These appointments have now been cancelled due to CV. How long can she be left without further adjustments? Is it OK to leave the braces as they are for several months? I realise it is a very specific query but I cannot get through to the hospital. thank you

Browntoa

Pop into your dentist for advice

brook2jack2

Don't pop into your dentist , they will probably have a locked door to cut down on contacts at a time when they are only doing emergency treatment on , often, vulnerable people. 

There will be no orthodontic treatment whatsoever for the immediate and interim future. The NHS orthodontist will have advice on what to do in an emergency , but as she is she is in a holding pattern and no harm will come to her. 

At the moment dentistry is extremely high risk for both patient and dentist and will only be carried out in dire emergency . Your daughter will have to be patient until things return to normal.

joannaber

Thank you for reassurance. She is comfortable now and will wait patiently for future appointment.

unforeseen

Dental Council have told dentists to shut up shop completely

brook2jack2

Actually they haven't. In England and Wales dentists will be redeployed in centres, but for now are only allowed to give remote advice.
In Wales dentists are still available to give emergency treatment not involving drills etc ,so mostly extractions and dressings , in urgent emergencies only. 

This is in line with what each countries chief dental officer has advised.

unforeseen

That's not picking. As far as the man in the street is concerned, their dentist is now shut for the foreseeable future. Mine has shut but these centres haven't even been set up yet so there is no dental service whatsoever

brook2jack2

Not in Wales where I am, dentists are still seeing urgent emergencies. 

To put this into context Dentists are at the highest risk from corvid 19 both because of proximity and viral load. Every person they see endangers them , their staff , their families and the other patients they see. They have no effective masks. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/15/business/economy/coronavirus-worker-risk.html

The only safe way to do any dentistry is with FFP3 masks and because of shortages these will only be available in these centres. 

Every dentist not on emergency dental duties will be deployed in frontline corvid 19 centres like the nightingale hospital. This redeployment is mandatory and unpaid . In Wales we have been told the redeployment is "voluntary" although our practice targets may be reassessed for the period we are deployed. 

Dentists are desperately trying to do the right thing ina very dangerous situation whilst their personal finances and businesses are in a very uncertain and parlous place. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52050506