Public Dental Service - Paediatrics

The categories of paediatric patients (< 16 years old) seen by PDS are:
• Children who require specialist skills to accept routine dental treatment.
• Children who would benefit from treatment under sedation or General Anaesthetic.

Children who are disadvantaged, for instance -
• Medical Problems
• Social Problems / Looked after children
• Learning Disability / Autistic Spectrum Disorders
• Anxiety/ Phobia
• Mobility Problems

Children may be referred for:
• an item of treatment
• a course of treatment
• shared care
• continuing care

Patients who can only attend premises via patient transport can be seen at Broxden, Kings Cross, Whitehills or Springfield. There are wheelchair platforms and bariatric facilities at Broxden, Kings Cross and Springfield.
In all cases, the initial appointment will be for assessment only. Treatment plans or modalities should not be agreed in advance as these may lead to unrealistic expectations on the patient’s part.

Inhalation Sedation
Children under the age of six are not generally suitable for inhalation sedation.
Only patients who are ASA I and II are suitable for sedation in the surgery setting.
This precludes patients with severe systemic disease

A child who cannot breathe through their nose cannot have inhalation sedation (eg, with adenoid hypertrophy)
The sedationist will also consider other potential problems like sleep apnoea, neuromuscular disease and active respiratory tract infections
Treatments commonly carried out under inhalation sedation
• Orthodontic extractions
• Extractions of primary and permanent teeth
• Hall crowns
• Direct restorations

General Anaesthesia – Paediatric Exodontia
There are three paediatric exodontia lists per week at Ninewells and the PRI list is approximately once per fortnight. Children will be offered the next available appointment regardless of geographical location.

Emergency GA’s. Access for emergency GA lists is extremely limited and is reserved for children with intractable pain and swelling.

Only exodontia is available during these lists. Therefore if a child also requires restorative treatment, this will be carried out before proceeding to GA.

PDS accept referrals from residents of Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and North Fife.

Referrals are NOT accepted for patients who live outside this area, but whose GDP is located within Tayside.

Please send all referrals to PDS via SCI Gateway and attach all relevant radiographs and clinical photographs. Please give as much information as possible. Failure to complete all relevant fields will delay the referral process. Please provide a current phone number for the patient.

Select – new message – Tayside – Tayside Dental Service – Paediatric.
Choose location (Broxden (Perth), Springfield (Arbroath), Kings Cross (Dundee).