Covid 19

Friday 1st May

Since 17th March we have only been adjusting braces for people with breakages and people that are in pain. At this stage, many patients that are currently under treatment with us are overdue their adjustment by 6 weeks and it is important to see these people soon so that they don’t run into problems. We have completed a comprehensive risk assessment at Wexford Orthodontics and we continue to make changes so that we can safely provide treatment during the extended period that Covid-19 is expected to be with us. We are now starting to see some of these people that are overdue adjustments. We are waitng to install more equipment, which will allow us to safely remove braces, and we expect this to be in place over the next few weeks. As we slowly reopen, we plan to prioritise seeing those that are currently under treatment with us and those that had appointments to have their braces removed cancelled. When we have seen these, we will  prioritise people that have already been for consultations and that were booked in to start their treatment, along with those that were booked in for review. Finally we will see new patients for consultations in the order that they were booked before the Covid-19 crisis.

We thank everyone for their patience as we adapt to the new reality which will be with us for a while.

^{Monday 30th March}

Following the introduction of new restrictions by the government over the weekend, we remain closed for all non- essential treatments, but if any of our patients have problems with their appliances or retainers, they can speak to one of our staff by phone and we will see them if they need urgent attention.

^{Tuesday 17th March}

Wexford Orthodontics will close for all non- emergency treatment until 29 th March and we will review the situation at that stage.

We have decided to close voluntarily even though the Department of Health, through the Chief Dental Officer, issued a letter late last night to say that non-urgent routine dentistry could continue provided that social distancing protocols were implemented in waiting areas. We feel however, that at this time of national crisis, it is better to be overcautious rather than risk the health of our patients and staff for non-urgent treatment.

We will continue to answer phones and emails while closed and if any of our existing patients require urgent advice or treatment, we will facilitate this.

Dr. Ryan and Dr. O’Morain will separately review their notes and records for each patient under treatment over the next few days and if they need to see anyone urgently, they will contact them and ask them to come in.

We will post updates regarding our arrangements on the news page of our website while closed. http://www.wexfordorthodontics.ie/news-items/

We hope that you and your families remain safe and well through this unprecedented crisis and we look forward to seeing your happy and healthy smile in due course.

From all of us at
Wexford Orthodontics

Child Protection & Monitoring Protocols

Wexford Orthodontics – December 2016

The safety of patients takes precedence over all other issues and as part of that, the safety of children and minors requires separate consideration.

Incidents of child abuse, which we now know to have occurred in many other areas in the past, mean that it is prudent to put protocols in place in order to create an environment at Wexford Orthodontics where it would never be possible for this type of abuse to occur.

1. No minor should ever be left alone with a male member of staff. Ideally a second member of staff should be present at all times, but if they must leave the area, they can only do so if a parent or another patient is in the room at that time. Otherwise they must remain in the room until another member of staff can relieve them
2. All treatment of minors is carried out in an open plan area rather than behind a closed door. The treatment areas have been carefully designed to provide privacy for the patient, while at the same time being open to the reception and waiting areas.
3. The treatment area in Wexford will be monitored by CCTV cameras. This will be reviewed and a decision will be made whether to extend it to Gorey. The treatment area in Gorey is more open and closer to the reception / waiting area, so there is less of a requirement for monitoring in Gorey.
4. The cameras will run continuously and the recordings will only be deleted when this is done automatically by the system to create space for new recordings after a considerable period of time. No member of staff will ever interfere with the system or attempt to delete any recording.
5. A monitor will not be connected to the monitoring system so it will not be possible for members of staff to review and look at recorded material.
6. Staff, patients and guardians can only view or copy recorded material after the Gardai have been informed who has requested access and the reason for such access. Access will then only be granted under the supervision of or with the prior written consent of a member of the Gardai.
7. If any member of staff becomes aware that any of these protocols are not being followed or if they suspect that the safety of a child or minor has been compromised or is at risk, they must immediately report it to their line manager or to the gardai if they think that this is more appropriate.

Drs. Oliver Setbon from Paris presented an interesting Invisalign update course in Dublin last Friday. Pictured above with Dr. Don Ryan and Dr. Hans Sancho, who is the Invisalign Clinical Support Specialist working with the Irish orthodontists that are providing Invisalign treatment.

Improvements to the Invisalign system over the past few years mean that it can now be used as an alternative to fixed appliances in more cases than before.

The main benefit of Invisalign is that it is less visible than fixed appliances and it can be removed for eating, but the additional cost and the inability to perform some types of tooth movement still limit its use.

The Wexford Orthodontics team at the recent Orthodontic Society of Ireland meeting in Portmarnock.
Orthodontists: Drs Donnchadh O’Morain, Jonathan Butler & Don Ryan (Back Row). Nurses: Rosemary Wilson, Patrice O’Brien, Donna O’Brien, Leanne Stafford and Manager: Helen Butler ( Front Row )
The orthodontists enjoyed a 2 day presentation by Dr. Sam Daher from Vancouver on recent advances in Invisalign treatment while the nurses program included presentations on medical emergencies, cross infection, sterilisation and dental photography.

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Donnchadh O’Morain will join us in Gorey from April. He is currently working as a specialist orthodontist in London and will work part time between London and Wexford while he completes his treatments in London and starts new treatments here. He is looking forward to returning to Ireland after 9 years abroad and plans to move back to live here at the end of the Summer.

Dr. O’Morain grew up in Co. Kerry and graduated with an honours degree in dentistry from Unversity College Cork in 2007. He then spent 2 years working as a general dentist in the UK while studying for his membership exams at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. After he was awarded Membership of the Faculty of Dentistry, Dr. O’Morain gained experience in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Bristol before moving to Glasgow Dental Hospital, where he spent time working in the specialist fields of Paediatric Dentistry, then Restorative Dentistry and finally Periodontology in preparation for his specialist training in Orthodontics. He completed a 3 year specialist orthodontic training programme in Leeds after being awarded an MSc in Orthodontics from the University of Leeds and a Membership in Orthodontics from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr. O’Morain worked for short periods as a specialist orthodontist in Sydney and in London and gained experience in a wide variety of treatment techniques before returning home to join Wexford Orthodontics in 2016.

Outside of work Donnchadh is a keen sportsman with a particular interest on gaelic football, running and swimming. He also enjoys travel, a passion which he has fulfilled over the years through periods spent as a volunteer dentist with charities in Uganda and in Peru.

The Wexford Orthodontics Prize has been presented annually to the student achieving the highest Junior Cert results at Gorey Community School since 2011.

Shown above are Don Ryan and Michael Finn ( Principal GCS ) with the 2015 recipients,

Fiona Somers, Chantel Esper, Eoghan Kennedy & Amanda Fitzpatrick.

Each of the four got 9 A’s in higher lever subjects. Fantastic results yet again for Gorey Comunity School.

Don Ryan presents a set of jerseys to the first ever senior GAA team from Creagh College, Gorey.

Helen and Donna today show that they also have a flair for modelling !!!!

Rosemary, Don and Patrice model the new season Wexford Orthodontics strip today.

Thankfully we’re better at teeth than we are at modelling !!

We have recently installed WiFi  in the waiting areas at both the Wexford and the Gorey surgeries.

Hopefully this will make time spent in our waiting areas more pleasant and productive for both our patients and their parents.