Orthodontist puts smile back on patients' faces

A consultant orthodontist at University Hospital of North Staffordshire has been hailed the best in the country at giving people their smile back. Mr John Scholey, lead clinician at University Hospital of North Staffordshire and Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, works with youngsters and adults whose teeth are severely deformed. He and his team won the Smile Award for the second year running after giving one youngster who could have needed jaw surgery a perfect smile.

Mr John Scholey said: "This patient had a very severe problem which was on the borderline of needing surgery to the jaws. We worked really hard with the patient, she needed six teeth out. She had very sticky out teeth, they stuck out by 12mm, and there was very severe crowding of the teeth. They did look a bit of a mess but the parents were keen for me to avoid surgery if we could and the patient did well. Now it is perfection, it has just turned out beautifully."

The treatment for these kinds of cases last about two to three years because the Trust only treats the most severe cases. Mr Scholey said: "Three years is a long time, but teeth move slowly so we are restricted by the speed we can do things. You can see when the braces come off there is a wow factor and confidence is improved. More and more research has shown there are psychological effects of spaced and sticky out teeth, it can affect self esteem."

Mr John Scholey and his team beat off competition from the very best private practises. He said: "To win it two years in a row shows just how hard we work to get some fantastic results. The cases we get tend to need the highest level of treatment and the most sparkly care and that is often provided in a private environment. However, we have always pushed to get the very best quality of care for our NHS patients."

Mr John Scholey lecturers around the world and is an examiner for the Royal College of surgeons of Edinburgh.