Coronavirus (COVID-19) update – children's dentistry
Due to coronavirus (COVID-19) we are unable to provide routine dental treatment for children. Booked appointments for dental treatment under general anaesthesia (operations) are limited, with long waiting times. If your child is a patient with us, we will contact you once our services restart.
Find out more about children's dentistry (including our emergency dental service) at this time.
Our children’s dental department is based at St Thomas’ Hospital, having moved from Guy's Hospital in October 2014.
We are a regional centre for children and young people who need specialist dental and oral healthcare.
We also carry out dental care for day-cases and in-patients under general anaesthetic.
Dental emergencies
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).
Please be aware that as of Monday 11 January 2021, we will no longer be accepting walk-in patients to our emergency dental services. As of this date, if your child has a dental emergency, please call NHS 111. NHS 111 will be running a triage and booking service. 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 every day.
Orthodontic emergencies
For patients under orthodontic care with the team at Guy’s and St.Thomas’, there is an orthodontic emergency clinic running Monday-Friday. If you experience any orthodontic emergencies, for example broken braces, please attend Floor 23 between 9-11am at Guy’s Hospital.
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 multidisciplinary clinics. See the dental clinics page for more information.
For information about our adult dental services, please see the main Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust website.