News

Kettering General Hospital is developing a £1.8m new Maxillo-Facial and Orthodontic Unit to expand and improve services for patients.

For the last 41 years the hospital has run its Maxillo-Facial & Orthodontic unit – which supports patients with dental and orthodontic problems and patients who need surgery for cancers and traumatic injuries – from an area within its main outpatients department.

The Unit sees some 12,500 patients per year but its current facilities (which consists of two orthodontic surgery rooms, a consulting room, a minor oral surgery room and an x-ray room) are under significant space pressure with no room to expand in the current location.

Consultant Orthodontist, and Clinical Lead for Orthodontics, Mr Julian O’Neill, said: “For many years, as a team, we have made the best of our facilities in outpatients but have long wanted to expand and improve the way we deliver our care.

“So we are delighted that the Trust has invested in a state-of-the-art Maxillo-Facial & Orthodontic Unit on the hospital site.

“The new unit will be double the size of our existing area and is will be located in a decommissioned ward area on the Rothwell Road side of the hospital (the former AM Lee (Ear, Nose and Throat) Ward which closed six years ago).

“Making the conversion has been a lengthy process – it started in October and is due to complete in May.”

Consultant Maxillo-Facial Surgeon, and Clinical Lead for Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Mr Colin Harrop, said: “From the surgery side one of the main benefits will be having two dedicated surgical suites rather than one.

“It will give us the capacity to see patients in a more timely way and in a better and more modern environment.”

The new unit’s facilities include:

• A state-of-the-art X-ray facility with an ability to do 3D ‘CT scanner’ type x-rays
• A state-of-the-art laboratory with 3D printer & intra-oral scanner
• Two surgical treatment suites
• Two orthodontic rooms
• One trauma room
• Two consultation rooms
• A health and wellbeing room for nurse-led services such as oral health guidance and dental impressions
• Designated children’s waiting area with toys and a TV
• A recovery room for patients who have had minor surgery
• A laboratory treatment room

The Unit will be staffed by three maxillo-facial and two orthodontic consultants, supported by five junior doctors, 18 nurses, seven administrative staff and two laboratory specialists.

The Unit’s Senior Sister, Nikki Dalziel, said: “Demand for our services has grown significantly over the years but the size our department has not.

“The new facility will enable us to see more patients, more quickly, and with the benefits of the very best in modern technology.

“For example – for the first time - we will have a cone beam CT scanner which enables a 3D image of person’s head and neck to be produced.

“For patients who need face altering surgery instead of using a very basic plastic model of face we will be able to create a computer-generated image of that person’s actual face to show them what they could look like after surgery.

“This will be reassuring and help them have a realistic feel for what they could like after surgery – easing what can be a great worry for them.”

The new treatment rooms will be equipped with the latest technology for oral surgery and orthodontic treatments. Patients will also have better waiting and changing facilities.

The hospital’s Maxillo-Facial and Orthodontic Lab currently supports patients by producing plaster casts of teeth – to help with orthodontic work, along with making a variety of braces and retainers and devices used to ease jaw pain.

They also produce specialist camouflage treatments which can be used to hide scars and help normalise the skin tone of patients with vitiligo – a condition which leads to white patches on the skin. The laboratory also constructs and fits most of the artificial eyes for north Northamptonshire.

Lab Manager, Philip Mason, said: “In many ways, until recently, the sorts of materials that Maxillo-Facial & dental labs have used haven’t changed much in the last 100 years.

“But the advent of new digital technology is revolutionising how we work and the move into the new unit will enable us to introduce some of the latest technology and provide better services for patients.

“For example we will be introducing a new intra-oral scanner – a device which takes 3D photographs of the inside of a person’s mouth and teeth. This will replace the old fashioned plaster casts – which we have had to make as a ‘before and after’ record of orthodontic work for every patient – and then store for 11 years.

“Also we will have a computer aided design and manufacturing package and 3D printer which will enable us to make very precise splints and guards for use in jaw surgery to help people with growth related jaw disorders.

“For the first time we will also have our own dedicated treatment room. This means we will be able to see patients for things like oral photography and scanning, having artificial eyes fitted, and camouflage work in our own treatment room – we previously had to use whatever room was free.

“Having the extra space, equipment and new facilities will help us to see more patients comfortably and improve their experience of our part of the Maxillo Facial & Orthodontic service.”