Coronavirus: children's dental services update
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, please follow our advice before attending the service.
Service overview
Our children’s dentistry department is based at St Thomas’ Hospital.
We are a regional centre for children and young people who need specialist oral healthcare.
We provide an A&E service for dental emergencies as a well as a full range of outpatient and treatment clinics (local anaesthetic, inhalation and intravenous sedation).
From Monday 11 January 2021, we are no longer able to accept walk-in patients to our emergency dental services. If your child has a dental emergency, please call NHS 111. NHS 111 will be running a triage and booking service, and a dental nurse will assess your child over the phone, and if appropriate, will book them in to be seen. Please be aware that there will be limited appointments each day.
We also carry out dental care for day cases and inpatients under general anaesthetic.
Conditions treated
We treat children with:
- complex medical problems
- soft tissue conditions (eg problems with the lips, gums, cheeks or tongue)
- special needs
- dental anomalies (such as altered tooth structure, shape, size, form and number of teeth)
- complex dental injuries
- periodontal (gum) problems
- extensive tooth surface loss (eg erosion)
- extensive tooth decay in very young children
- phobias (where other treatment attempts have failed).
We also treat children who need:
- surgical removal of teeth that have failed to come through ('erupt')
- investigation of disorders of tooth eruption and loss.
Our clinics
We work closely with other dental specialities and healthcare professionals in our children's dental clinics.