Appointments

Your appointment

Your appointment may be:

• by phone
• by video call
• face-to-face

When you book your appointment, please let us know which type of appointment you prefer.

If we need to see you face-to-face, we will let  you know.

How to get an appointment

A doctor, dentist, hygiene therapist or nurse working at Guy's Dental Hospital can refer you.

For people with dental anxiety or significant gag-reflex which is impacting the ability to receive necessary dental care, we also accept referrals from local dentists and GPs.

Changing or cancelling your appointment

Phone 020 7188 8006 to change or cancel your appointment. Please let us know as soon as possible.

If you miss your appointment we'll send you a message asking you to respond within 14 days to re-book.

Before your appointment

You may be asked to complete some questionnaires before or during your appointment.

Please bring reading glasses if you need them.

Please contact us if you'd like to speak to someone before your appointment about what to expect.

During your appointment

You will not have any dental treatment at your first appointment. 

You will see the psychological professional and clinical nurse specialist.

We have our own rooms for seeing people, away from the main dental area. We'll see you in a room that does not contain dental equipment.

We'll ask you about your needs and why you were referred to us.

Your first appointment will usually last up to 1 hour.

Sometimes we have postgraduate trainee psychological professionals with us, so that they can find out how we work. If you do not want them to be present, please let us know. This will not affect your care in any way and your wishes will always be respected. 

Urgent dental treatment

If you need urgent dental treatment, we will discuss this with you.

It might be possible to complete your treatment under sedation with our sedation and special care service. We will discuss your options with you in detail and answer any questions you have.

Confidentiality and privacy

Your visits to the service are private. Information on your appointments with the psychology team will be held in your dental notes. Only health professionals who are immediately involved in your care will see your notes. We will respect your wishes if you do not want us share something with other members of the dental team. We'll only pass on confidential information without your permission if we need to protect you or someone else from very serious harm. We'll always talk with you about this first. We will discuss confidentiality and privacy with you at your first appointment.

After your appointment

After your first appointment, we'll write to the person who referred you to let them know what we agreed. We'll send a copy of this letter to you and, if you agree, to your GP.

If you have follow-up appointments, we'll write to the person who referred you again to let them know about the progress you have made. You'll also receive a copy of this letter.