Reducing general anaesthetic episodes: 'piggyback' procedures - Birmingham Children's Hospital experience.

Introduction Birmingham Children's Hospital (BCH) has a well-established care pathway for joint procedures - 'piggybacks' - under general anaesthetic (GA). The premise behind these joint procedures is that dental treatment is undertaken at the same time as another planned GA, usually completed by the patient's primary medical or surgical specialty, or another speciality attending a dental GA list.Aim The aim of this paper is to share the recent BCH experience of joint procedures and provide a model for secondary and tertiary care providers across the UK to develop their own collaborative working approaches.

Aesthetic management of discoloured incisors in children.

Children can often present with discolouration of their teeth, commonly affecting their permanent maxillary central incisors. These opacities can often cause children to suffer with psychosocial and confidence related issues. With long waiting lists in secondary care, many children may face increased waiting times to receive aesthetic dental treatment.

Dento-facial infections in children - A potential red flag for child neglect?

Background: Healthcare professionals are often confronted with children presenting to the emergency department with dento-facial infections. These infections may be associated with dental neglect and as such could be a marker for general neglect. The aim of this retrospective study was to ascertain whether dento-facial infections can be used as an indicator for general neglect.

IADT 2020 Guidelines: What should the dental professional know?

Traumatic dental injuries are a common occurrence among children. Effective acute and long-term management of traumatic dental injuries can improve patient outcomes, especially in the paediatric patient. It is important that all dental professionals follow up-to-date, evidence-based guidance when treating patients.

Dental Bleaching: 'Now I can Smile for my Selfies' - Paediatric Patients' Perspectives.

Children presenting with discoloured teeth commonly suffer from low self-esteem. This paper reports the findings from a questionnaire evaluating changes brought about by dental bleaching and the psychosocial effects of bleaching on 22 patients. All patients reported to like the overall appearance of their teeth following bleaching and reported a significant improvement in mental wellbeing.

Common Difficult Scenarios for The Newly Qualified Dental Professional.

Dental complaints are at the forefront of many dental practitioners' thoughts, with most dentists likely to have a complaint against them during their practicing lifetime. Difficult clinical scenarios can be particularly challenging for the newly qualified dental professional to manage, with a lack of experience potentially leading to an increased likelihood of a complaint. This article highlights several common clinical scenarios which dental practitioners are likely to face, providing a framework for their management and assessing the impact that the coronavirus pandemic may have on patients presenting for routine dental care.

Demographics and management of paediatric dental-facial trauma in the 'lockdown' period: A UK perspective.

Background: The United Kingdom entered 'lockdown' on the 23 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in school closures forcing children to remain at home. Dental-facial trauma was still likely to be common place due to falls and injuries exercising.

Paediatric dental pain and infection during the COVID period.

Background: During the coronavirus pandemic, paediatric patients will still likely present with dental pain and infection. In order to streamline care at King's College Hospital (KCH), Paediatric Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) have developed a collaborative working approach allowing patients to be treated effectively and to streamline patient care in the absence of easy access to general anaesthetic facilities.

Method: Presenting complaints, treatment need and the treatment received were recorded for all paediatric patients presenting with dental pain and infection in the "lockdown" period (23rd March- 14th June) during "normal" working hours and "out of hours" to either paediatric dentistry or OMFS.

COVID-19 pandemic: the first wave - an audit and guidance for paediatric dentistry.

With the use of newly issued guidelines, King's College Hospital has developed new standard operating procedures specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the unprecedented nature of the current global pandemic, this paper highlights how paediatric dental emergencies can be managed safely and efficiently, as well as new measures which can help reduce transmission of the virus. Furthermore, an audit of the current paediatric dental emergencies attending the hospital is presented.