Dental Health Unit

If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please tell us as soon as possible by calling the Dental Health Unit reception: 0161 701 9006 or 0161 701 9087

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 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.

Our face to face clinics are carried out by a member of the consultant-led Paediatric Dentistry – Dental Health Unit team. The clinician will ask questions about your child’s symptoms and concerns, as well as detailed questions about their medical background. 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, 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 Dental Health Unit.

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 the same clinic as the one you visited for your child’s consultation appointment.

• 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 either a small needle or with a device call the Wand.

The Wand is a computer controlled device that can drip local anaesthetic into the gum around a tooth, and is often well tolerated by cooperative young children.

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.

Before the 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 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

After inhalation sedation, your child should avoid active sports, swimming, bicycling, 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.

Find out more about inhalation 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 childs 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.

Before a general anaesthetic, your child’s medical health and suitability for general anaesthetic will be assessed by an anaesthetic nurse or anaesthetist.

On the day of surgery, your child will need to have not eaten or drank beforehand. You will be provided with specific instructions regarding this.

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

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.

All General Anaesthetics carried out by the Dental Health Unit occur in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

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.

Cancer treatment can involve surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. These treatments, however can cause short and longer term effects on the mouth and teeth.

This can include effects such as a sore mouth and ulcers (mucositis), or impact how the teeth grow.

Oncology patients will often be referred to the Dental Health Unit for ongoing dental care while they are undergoing treatment. We will discuss how their treatment may impact them, and can provide any treatment required to ensure oral health.

Find out more here.