Referring a Patient to an Orthodontist Using Virtual Consultant Online

No. You can refer exactly as you do today, by letter, email or NHS e-RS, depending on what the receiving practice accepts. Many practices also share an online referral link with local dentists: you enter the patient's details, your own contact details and any notes, and submit without creating an account. Either way, Virtual Consultant Online mainly changes what happens to the referral once it reaches the practice, where it is logged against the patient with a status and a named owner.

Referrals sent through a practice's online referral link are logged against the patient straight away, and the practice is alerted by email and push notification, so the referral does not sit unseen in a shared inbox. Virtual Consultant Online does not send an automatic acknowledgement to the referring dentist, so any confirmation of receipt comes from the practice team. If confirmation matters for your own records, particularly for NHS referrals where you may need to evidence the date a referral was made, ask the practice what they send back and when.

Most orthodontic practices send a referral-back letter after the initial assessment confirming the outcome and proposed treatment plan, and some update the referring dentist again at key stages of treatment. This is written and sent by the practice rather than generated automatically by Virtual Consultant Online, so the timing and level of detail vary between practices. If a referral-back letter matters for your records, confirm the practice's process when you first start referring to them, and include your preferred email address on each referral.

Some practices ask newly referred patients to submit a short set of guided photos through Virtual Consultant Online before their first in-person visit. The patient follows on-screen prompts for each angle using their own phone, and the practice can ask for a retake if a photo is unclear. This gives the orthodontist an initial clinical picture ahead of the appointment, which can shorten the time between referral and a confirmed treatment plan. It does not replace an in-person clinical examination.

Yes. Virtual Consultant Online supports practices managing NHS and private patients alongside each other, so from your side the act of referring is the same under either pathway. What differs is what happens next: NHS orthodontic referrals are assessed against IOTN eligibility criteria and enter a commissioned pathway with its own waiting times, while private referrals typically move to a consultation and quote much sooner. Where a patient may not meet NHS eligibility, it is helpful to prepare them for the possibility that private treatment will be discussed.

This guidance is written for general dental practitioners referring a patient to an orthodontic practice, and it describes the referral from the referrer's point of view rather than the patient's. Patients looking to find an orthodontist, understand treatment options or book a consultation are better served by the patient-facing sections of the Virtual Consultant Online site, which cover eligibility, treatment types and costs in the detail a patient needs and without the referral-process detail that is only relevant to a referring clinician.