Paediatric Dentistry


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Paediatric dentistry is a field of dentistry which focuses on treating the oral health problems of children from when they are born until they reach the age of sixteen. A lot of Paediatric dentistry specialists work in a consult position in a hospital or in the community dental service as a senior dental officer.

Paediatric Dentistry Treatment

Paediatric dentistry tends to overlap with several other dental specialties. As such the treatments carried out by a Paediatric dentistry specialist are widely varied. For instance, a child seeking treatment for toothache could potentially require an extraction, a restoration or a treatment of the pulp. Paediatric dentistry specialists also tend to make use of behavioural procedures which can help the child adapt or become less nervous about dental treatments. As children are often too young to be completely cooperative while undergoing treatment, a specialist in Paediatric dentistry often has to perform treatments using sedation, general anaesthetic or nitrous oxide, especially with the more complex treatments.


Qualifications of a Paediatric Dentist

As well as being a registered dentist, to attain a specialty in Paediatric dentistry, it is necessary to have a Diploma of Membership in Paediatric Dentistry which is awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons. To be eligible to train for a speciality in Paediatric dentistry, at least two years of postgraduate professional training is required. Additionally, trainees will also need to have acquired their Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery or its analogue. This usually takes between two and three years to accomplish.

If they are successful in achieving this qualification, the trainees are then required to undergo a three-year training programme so that they are able to be admitted to the MPaedDent examination, set by the Royal College of Surgeons. If this is accomplished, the trainee is then eligible to apply for their Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training, which enables them to be registered on the specialist list. If the trainee then wants to attain a consultant position in an NHS hospital, they will need another two years undergoing a SAC approved training programme so that they can be awarded the Intercollegiate Fellowship in Paediatric Dentistry.

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