COVID-19 Update – 26^th of March 2020

Dear Patients,

In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, and in line with the latest Government Guidelines we are required to temporarily suspend all dental treatments for the safety of our patients, staff, and the wider community. This action is required by all dental practices in UK at this moment in time. At ODL we are as concerned by these developments as you are, and we will continue to work as hard as possible to restore normal function as soon as possible.  In the meantime we will ensure to provide our patients with all support you need, and of course to keep you updated with the latest information as and when we know it.

If you are one of our patients and you have an emergency, please email us on info@odldentalclinic.com. We will be able to advise you individually as the guidance on the care we can provide is constantly changing.

We are doing all we can to help and assist our patients and will do everything we can to minimise the impact of this temporary closure. The safety of our team and patients is paramount as we take this course of action. Rest assured, we will keep you informed at all times through our website and social media channels as we work towards the time when we can resume our usual service.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

The ODL Team

Patients with fixed braces - Home advice

Wires digging in

- If a thin wire, it may be possible for you to use tweezers to replace wire in the tube/band or tweezers and a nail clipper/scissors to shorten the long end;

- It may be that a thin wire is the correct size but may have rotated round the teeth so that it is short on one side and long on the other. Using tweezers a pencil with a rubber on the end or a teaspoon, it may be possible to push the wire back round to prevent the long end digging in;

- If the wire is very thick and stiff (discuss with your dentist) it may not be possible to cut the wire with home instruments. If this is the case it may be necessary to cover the wire to prevent it being sharp. Relief wax/silicone can be purchased from pharmacies, Amazon and some supermarkets. If you are unable to purchase wax, try covering with hard cheese (baby-bell, cheddar), Blue tack or even chewing gum may help.

Broken bonded retainers

- Push wire back down towards the tooth as much as possible. (Fingers or tweezers) ? Cover with best medium available (Ortho wax, Cheese wax, Blu tack, chewing gum) ? Cut the exposed unbonded wire using tweezers and nail clippers/scissors;

- Gently pull the wire to remove the whole retainer;

- Wear clear retainers as much as possible.

Bracket off

This is not urgent unless it is causing trauma to the soft tissues;

- It may be possible for us to guide you on how to remove the bracket from the wire if it is causing trauma; 

- It may be possible to leave the bracket if it is not causing any problems at present.

Elastic Bands

- At this time if you run out of elastics please stop wearing them until your next appointment.

Invisalign patients - Home advice

- If your current aligner is in good order keep wearing it as much as possible;

- If your current aligner is broken or ill fitting, step back to your previous aligner; 

- If you have worn your last Invisalign aligner for the recommended duration, keep wearing that aligner at night time until you can move on to your next aligner or receive further instructions from our team.