Paediatric Dentistry

If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please tell us as soon as possible by calling the Department of Child Dental Health reception: 0161 393 7732

Before your appointment, please have a think about what is important to you and your child, and what help you are looking for from the Child Dental Health team.

Sometimes children’s behaviour can change when they have oral or dental issues, so having a think about this beforehand can help us quickly identify issues that may be affecting them.

If you have any photographs of your child’s oral or dental condition, e.g. on your phone, please bring these with you.

Please follow the instructions in the appointment letter including any adjustments linked to the pandemic. It is important that your child is brought by an adult with parental responsibility, so that consent forms can be signed if required, otherwise treatment may be delayed.

If your child is experiencing pain, swelling or other severe symptoms relating to their oral health, please contact your current dentist or call NHS 111 if your child is not currently registered with a dentist.

Please note that there is no ‘walk in’ emergency service.

Our face to face clinics are carried out by a member of the consultant-led Child Dental Health team. The clinician will ask questions about your child’s symptoms and concerns, as well as detailed questions about their medical, social, and dietary backgrounds. Please have a list of any medications your child is taking and drug allergies that they have had.

We make every effort to start your consultation on time. For face-to-face appointments, please arrive 10 minutes before. If you are more than 20 minutes late for your appointment, you may not be seen.

Appointments are of variable length and may take over an hour. If your child’s condition is more complex, their appointment may take longer.

We will discuss your child’s oral health concerns with yourself and your child, and undertake an examination of the mouth. We are highly flexible and will undertake this in a way that is suitable to your child’s needs.

We may also take x-ray images of your child’s teeth/mouth to aid diagnosis and treatment planning.

At the initial consultation appointment, no dental treatment will be undertaken, so please reassure your child if they are anxious. 

Once there is a diagnosis, your child’s treatment options will be discussed with you. It is important that you ask as many questions as you need to help you understand your child’s diagnosis and management.

You will receive a copy of the clinical letter via post, which will also be sent to your referring clinician, and other medical professionals involved in your child’s care. This will include details about your child’s oral and general health, the examination, any investigations undertaken, and the overall treatment plan for their oral and dental care.

We may request our medical colleagues arrange for further investigations, such as blood tests, to help us provide treatment to your child. We may also refer your child to other medical or dental specialties for assessment.

Sometimes we refer patients to Community Dental Services for provision of treatment, ongoing shared care, or once we have provided treatment in the Department of Child Dental Health.

These services are local centres with experienced dentists who have the advanced skills and facilities to provide care to patients with complex needs. We will always discuss their involvement in your child’s care with you before making such a referral.

Treatment is provided in either the open plan clinic you visited for your child’s consultation appointment, or in one of our side-surgeries.

• Please arrive 10 minutes early, so that we can check you in and update any relevant details.
• Please ensure your child eats and drinks as normal prior to the appointment.
• Please also ensure they take any medication as prescribed, unless advised otherwise.

Treatment is sometimes carried out under local anaesthetic to ensure it is painless.

This involves applying a small amount of local anaesthetic gel to the gum first. This helps to make the injection more comfortable. Then, to make the area completely numb, an injection is given with a small needle. This is provided in a way that minimises any discomfort your child may feel.

Sometimes we also provide inhalation sedation or ‘happy air’ to our patients, to help relax them. This is a form of light sedation. Your child will not be asleep.

It is a mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen breathed through a nosepiece. This helps your child to feel relaxed and accept treatment.

Your child will be awake and conscious throughout the procedure and will be able to talk.

Inhalation sedation takes a few minutes to become effective and also a few minutes to recover from at the end of the procedure.

Inhalation sedation is a suitable form of sedation for most children.

Inhalation sedation is not suitable when pregnant.

Before the Inhalation Sedation appointment

Please contact Dental Department reception if your child develops a cold (inhalation sedation does not work if a child has a cold or a blocked nose).

On the day of the Inhalation Sedation appointment

Fasting is NOT required. Your child should have a light meal approximately an hour or two before the appointment

Please ensure they take any medication as prescribed, unless advised otherwise.

The patient must be accompanied by a responsible adult who has parental responsibility

After the treatment under Inhalation Sedation

After inhalation sedation, your child should avoid active sports, including swimming, cycling, dancing, playing in a playground, or crossing the road on their own for the rest of the day. Please ask the dentist if your child can go to school after the treatment.

Read more about Inhalation Sedation here.

Intravenous sedation is a form of sedation we provide to some children over 12 years old.

It helps your child to feel really relaxed, making lengthy or complex dental treatment more comfortable and easy for them.

Your child will be awake and conscious throughout the procedure and will be able to talk.

This type of sedation is given by specialist anaesthetic doctors who look after the health of your child during the procedure. They deliver the sedation through an injection, usually in the arm or the back of hand.

This treatment is provided in the Sedation Suites at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

If your child is suitable for treatment with Intravenous sedation, your dentist will discuss this with you at their initial assessment.

Read more about Intravenous Sedation here.

A general anaesthetic ensures that your child is unconscious and pain free during an operation. General anaesthetics are given by specialist anaesthetic doctors who look after the health of your child during the procedure.

If your child’s dental care is suitable to carry out under General Anaesthesia, we will discuss this with you at their initial assessment.

We may liaise with your child’s other doctors and medical carers regarding special measures to support your child’s admission for treatment under general anaesthetic.

General Anaesthetics carried out by the Department of Child Dental Health occur in either the Trafford General Hospital or the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Before your child’s General Anaesthetic

Before a general anaesthetic, your child’s medical health and suitability for general anaesthetic will be assessed by an anaesthetic nurse or anaesthetist. This may be by phone or in a face to face appointment.

On the day of the General Anaesthetic

• For General Anaesthetics at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, please attend Ward 76 on the First floor.
• For General Anaesthetics at the Trafford General Hospital, please attend the Children’s Resource Centre on the Ground floor.

On the day of surgery, your child will need to have fasted before their surgery.

Please follow the general rules below:

• Up to 6 hours before the anaesthetic, children can have food and formula milk.
• Up to 4 hours before the anaesthetic, children can have breast milk.
• Up to 1 hour before the anaesthetic, children can have sips of water only.

You will be provided with specific instructions regarding this.

You will have a further opportunity to meet the dental and anaesthetic team on the day before surgery.

You will usually be allowed to accompany your child to the anaesthetic room, and be there while they are put to sleep.

Once your child’s operation is over, we will bring your child to the recovery room and you can be present while they are waking up.

Most surgeries are ‘daycases’, meaning your child will be allowed to go home on the same day. However, sometimes we require our patients to stay in overnight for observations after a procedure. We will always try to let you know if this is likely.

After your child’s General Anaesthesia

We will provide verbal and written advice on how to look after your child after they have had their dental treatment under General Anaesthesia.

We will also discuss whether your child needs to be seen again in the Department of Child Dental Health

For more information click here

Read out post operative instruction leaflet here.

The Royal College of Surgeons has created a free short story for younger children about having an anaesthetic. Click here to read it.

The Regional Paediatric Dental Service does not provide a routine dental access service for children. If a child attends the Dental Hospital in pain they will be directed back to their local primary care provider. If they are not registered with a Dentist, they will be signposted to the NHS Direct local helpline (dial: 111) to emergency care. An appointment closest to home will be offered. If they attend the dental Hospital seeking routine care, the helpline will advise on which dental practice closest to their home has capacity.

Dental Practitioners wishing to make an emergency referral must telephone the Department and speak to the Triage team / Consultant in charge on that day, before sending a patient to the Dental Hospital.

Please ring 0161 393 7732 for advice on how we can best help your patient receive the appropriate care.

Inappropriate/ inadequate referrals will be returned. Your compliance with the above guidelines will avoid unnecessary delays in patient care.