Dental Services
Oral Medicine
A specialty of dentistry that is mainly concerned with the management of various chronic, recurrent and medically-related conditions affecting the mouth.
About our service
Oral Medicine is a specialty of dentistry that is mainly concerned with the management of various chronic, recurrent and medically-related conditions affecting the mouth. These are predominantly diseases affecting the lining of the mouth, but also some conditions affecting salivary glands and certain facial pain conditions. Management of these conditions is mainly non-surgical.
Routine referrals from General Dental Practitioners in the Midlands are accepted via the electronic referral system Rego. Referrals from General Medical Practitioners or from other specialties may be made by letter or using the Oral Medicine referral proforma, which can be found on the hospital website and returned by post or email.
The team
- Mrs Andrea Richards - Head of Service & Consultant in Oral Medicine
- Mrs Ana Poveda-Gallego - Academic Lead / Consultant in Oral Medicine
- Mr Jon Higham - Consultant in Oral Medicine
- Dr Nicholas Clifford - Specialty Dentist, Oral Medicine
- Noha Abdelaziz - Specialty Dentist, Oral Medicine
- Alexandra Perks - Academic Clinical Fellow in Oral Medicine
The department also consists of a number of Specialty Dentists, Specialist Registrars, Core trainees, Dental Hygienists and Dental Nurses to provide patient care.
Access to services
Refreshed: March 2021
Patients with suspected malignancies or other serious diseases continued to be seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, some by video or telephone consultations when appropriate. Clinic activity for review patients, starting with patients with serious diseases or those with a malignant potential, and most recently the recommencement of routine reviews, has been increased gradually and carefully to ensure a safe environment for patients and staff.
The department has resumed accepting new referrals triaged as routine. Some patients may be offered appointments by video link or telephone, in selected cases. Advice and guidance may be given to referrers to support management of some patients in general dental or medical practice.
Due to the suspension of routine appointments during the peak of the pandemic, there is a backlog of patients waiting for both new consultation and review appointments. We ask that new patients (those who have not yet been seen in the department) contact their general dental or medical practitioner who referred them, for advice if their condition deteriorates, so that up-to-date clinical information can be sent to us if necessary.
Patients waiting for review appointments who may be experiencing deterioration in their condition should contact the hospital directly on 0121 466 5555 or via their general dentist/GP for advice.
As a large number of patients need to be rescheduled, the potential waiting time for routine review appointments has increased significantly and it is anticipated that some appointments may be delayed by several months.