Poonam Kalsi and Jose Rodriguez leaders of the pilot project at Guy's hospital standing in their white uniform with lanyards in front of a window.

Dental care delivered 12 times faster with new virtual clinics

With your generous support, a pilot project funded by Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity has reduced patients' waiting time for dental care from 6 months to 2 weeks.

Virtual clinics for faster dental care

Guy’s Dental Hospital have implemented virtual advice and guidance clinics which allow local dentists to access advice about their patients directly from a hospital consultant. Patients with simpler conditions receive their care faster at their local dentist or hospital, while more complex cases are treated at Guy’s Hospital.

So far, over 200 patients have been treated through this pilot programme. In addition to receiving faster dental care, this innovative approach has meant that more people can access care closer to home, cutting the environmental impact of traveling to hospital, and reducing the rate of missed appointments.

Faster treatment for hypodontia patients

Patients born with missing adult teeth, known as hypodontia, have received orthodontic care up to 7 times faster under this new project. Around 6 in 10 hypodontia patients were seen within 2 weeks compared with the usual 8 – 15 week wait. They also benefited from accessing the latest technologies, including 3D printing, without having to visit the hospital.

The flexibility of appointments allows more patients who had previously been underserved to access NHS care when they need it. The study found that patients from ethnic minority backgrounds were less likely to be able to travel to hospital to receive their care.

Improving dental accessibility for ethnic minority communities

Enabling patients to attend appointments locally has shown to improve the number of patients from ethnic minority backgrounds accessing dental services. In traditional clinics, 44 of 100 patients were from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared with 58 of 100 in virtual clinics.

This model was shared in the British Dental Journal and is the first published example of advice and guidance clinics in dentistry. The team are now sharing their work with other hospitals in London, and the Association of Dental Hospitals, so that other patients across the UK can benefit.

Thanks to your continued support, you have helped raise the funds contributing to the £237,000 grant for this two-year pilot. Your generous donations directly contribute to the exceptional care provided at Guy’s and St Thomas’. By funding innovative projects like virtual advice and guidance clinics, it helps ensure all patients can access NHS care with ease.

“These clinics are common in medicine, but there hasn’t yet been anything formalised and funded for dentistry. With this model, we are able to ensure that patients are seen at the right time, by the right clinician.”

Poonam Kalsi, co-lead of the project and clinical director of Guy’s Dental Hospital

Together, we can continue to improve access to vital dental care for all patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

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