Extended Duties

In the last few years. there have been various changes in the Dentist's Act to enable other Dental Care Professionals (DCPs) to carry out certain tasks which could previously only be done by Dentists. So now we have Therapists, who are licensed to do most things involved in providing orthodontic treatment, as long as they have a written instruction (or verbal, if the supervising Orthodontist is in the building). The Therapist training programme is a demanding course based at a University or Dental Hospital, and involves a year of study and in-practice training.

So far. we have put Emma, Kirstie and Amy through the course, all of whom passed with flying colours and are now working very hard seeing patients, whilst combining this with their managerial roles. Depending on how our other plans for the practice take shape, these three may well be joined by others in the next few years.

As well as this, our Nurses have been trained and licensed to take photographs and impressions, which are an essential part of orthodontic treatment. It means that on busy days they can use spare surgery space to do these tasks whilst the Orthodontists and Therapists can be providing treatments for other patients at the same time.

As far as standards go, rest assured! Firstly, all DCPs must be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) just as Dentists and Specialists are, and this means they have a responsibility to act in a caring and professional way at all times, and undergo a number of hours of approved and recorded study each year. We have a programme of education and meetings in the practice so that our staff can meet these requirements, and we also have various projects underway and systems in place to make sure that all of their work is always of a very high quality. Also, we assess and record the standard the orthodontic treatment provided for every patient, and these "outcome measures" are discussed at regular meetings. You can find out more about our method of Quality Assurance in
this leaflet.

So don't worry if sometimes you are seen for part or all of your appointment by either a Therapist or a Nurse. Phil and Nick will be at hand most of the time to supervise their work, and we do make sure that patients and parents have an opportunity to be treated by or speak to the Orthodontists when needed or asked for.  

All these changes have allowed us to treat patients more efficiently and so reduce waiting times for appointments - we can also work much more flexibly, and (for example) more easily offer an appointment at short notice for anyone who needs to be seen without delay. When we surveyed our patients recently to find out how they feel about having DCPs becoming more directly involved in their care, we had many positive comments and most patients are happy with the way their treatment is provided. There were only a few criticisms, which we have taken on board and made the necessary adjustments to our procedures.

In fact everyone, patients, parents, and the Team are really pleased with the new way of doing things, and we are delighted and proud that our practice has become even more happy and efficient than it was before!