Paediatrics – Dentistry for children
At Gallions Reach Dental Clinic, we strongly believe in educating children in good oral hygiene regimes. You can register your child with us for a check-up as soon as they have their first teeth, and we have dentists and nurses here with considerable experience in treating the under 12s.
NHS or private?
Children up to the age of 12 can be referred on the NHS, however they – like all other NHS patients – would have to wait in line for their consultation and treatment. Waiting lists at hospitals and community dentists are currently up to a year long. Our waiting lists for the consultation are around 12 weeks at present, and treatment will be with one of the dentists who provide sedation. Unfortunately the wait is a long time if you need extraction for orthodontics, or are in pain.
However private paediatric referrals, consultations and treatment can be arranged within 2 weeks with Marie or James, both of whom have a specialised interest in paediatric dentistry.
Fillings and extractions
Should your child need a filling or to have a tooth removed, you can rest assured that we do everything in our power to make such procedures as painless as possible. The last thing any of us wants is to provoke any sort of ‘dentist phobia’ in children!
Exactly how we achieve this will depend upon the complexity of each specific procedure. Simple, easily accessible fillings can often be performed using a local anaesthetic injection, your child’s gum having been suitably numbed first. For more difficult and potentially more painful procedures, we can use inhalation sedation.
What is inhalation sedation?
Inhalation sedation is a widely used technique which involves your child breathing a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen from a nosepiece ‘mask’.
- This will help them feel less anxious, slightly drowsy and more relaxed for the dental treatment
- Children remain awake and aware, but with a warm and detached sensation; inhalation sedation does not make your child unconscious
- Reducing anxiety and fear of treatment generally makes our young patients more co-operative and is particularly helpful if they are having a longer, uncomfortable or more complicated procedure
- The dentist and members of the dental team are specially trained to administer sedation, to watch patients closely at all times and to treat any problems that might arise
- Recovery is fast, with the nitrous oxide being completely breathed out of the body within 30 minutes of the treatment finishing. The dentist will also give some oxygen at the end of the sedation to help prevent feelings of nausea or headache
- Only when we are certain that your child is fully recovered from sedation, we will let you take him or her home.
What to expect
It is usual for your child to have two or more appointments.
- Appointments: the first will be an assessment, where the dentist will take your child’s full dental history and explain various methods of providing the dental treatment with or without sedation. Other than in an emergency, the treatment will take place at the second or subsequent appointments. If your child is unwell on the day with cold/flu symptoms or any contagious illness, please contact our clinic for advice
- How to prepare your child: he or she should wear loose, comfortable clothing and can eat a light meal up to 2 hours before the treatment. Any routine medicines should be taken as normal, and any medicines or inhalers your child may need should be brought to the appointment
- Consent: we will require this before giving any treatment. If you have signed the consent form at the assessment appointment and are then unable to attend on the day of treatment, your child must be accompanied by a responsible adult (over 18 years of age)
- After treatment: children should not participate in active sports for the rest of the day but may be able to return to school. They can eat and drink normally, but should take care to avoid biting areas of the mouth that might still be numb, such as lips, cheek or your dentist will explain which pain relief medicines your child may have as the local analgesia wears off, and will give you a contact telephone number in case of any concerns.
Meet our Paediatric team
MARIE WONG
DENTIST
JAMES WILSON
DENTIST
Frequently asked questions
Do we treat children under the NHS?
Yes we do provide free dentistry to NHS-exempt patients but the waiting times can be long, often around 12 weeks.
What is a paediatric dentist?
A dentist who has been specially trained to treat children under the age of 12.
Must my child be referred to Gallions Reach by a general dentist?
We see under 12’s every 6 months for check-ups unless the dentist specifies otherwise.
How do you treat an anxious child?
We aim to treat anxious children with sensitivity, understanding and friendly reassurance. In such situations, patience is also essential; wherever possible we also try to explain clearly exactly what we are doing and why – to involve, enlighten and sometimes even entertain our younger patients!