Free check-ups with a member parent, fissure seals, fluoride, first visits from one
Children's dentistry
Children seen from their first birthday, free with a member parent, with first visits that are a ride in the chair and a sticker rather than a treatment, and the sealants and fluoride that mean most of our children never have a filling.
The child who is not frightened of the dentist at thirty is the child who came at one, sat on a parent's lap, had a ride in the chair and went home with a sticker. The teeth come later; the habit comes first.
Bring them from their first birthday, or when the first tooth appears. The first few visits are short and about the room: the chair goes up and down, the mirror counts teeth, the water squirts, and nobody does anything they do not want. By three or four most children open wide without being asked. We talk to the child, not over them, and we show parents how to brush a toddler's teeth without a wrestling match.
From six, when the adult molars come through, we seal the grooves with fissure sealant and paint fluoride varnish twice a year, which between them prevent most of the decay children get. Diet advice is specific rather than preachy: it is about how often, not how much. If a filling is ever needed it is done with the same stop signal as the adults, and we refer to the community dental service for anything that needs a general anaesthetic.
What is included
- Seen from the first birthday
- Free examinations with a member parent
- First visits that are a ride and a sticker
- Fissure sealants and fluoride varnish from six
- Diet and brushing advice that is specific
- Orthodontic assessment at nine
What it costs
Examinations free for under-18s with a parent on the membership plan, otherwise £32. Fissure sealants £28 a tooth, fluoride varnish £22. Children's fillings from £85. There is no VAT on dental treatment and every fee is on the fees page, with the membership plan that spreads the routine cost. Nervous? Start on the nervous patients page.
Questions about children
When should my child first see a dentist?
By their first birthday, or when the first tooth comes through, whichever is sooner. It is not about the teeth at that age; it is about the child learning that the dentist is a normal, boring place.
Book a check-up, or join the plan.
A new patient examination is £75 with X-rays and photographs, or £18.50 a month on the membership plan with two hygienist visits a year and 10% off treatment. Nervous? Ask for James and start with a conversation.