Special Care Dentistry is concerned with providing and enabling the delivery of oral care for people with significant impairment or disability. This may be physical, sensory, medical, emotional or social.
We do not provide lifetime dental care but offer shared care with the community dental service.
Immediate / emergency dental treatment should be accessed from the either the community dental service or general dental service.
Patient contact
General enquiries
Service management
Carol Merchant-Thompson
Address
Special care dentistry
Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
47-49 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DG
Other referral information
Acceptance criteria for Special Care Dentistry
- Adolescents and Adults aged 16 years old and above.
- Patient groups accepted are Tier 2/3 complexity – please see the attached NHS England guidance document for further details:
- NHS England – Special Care Dentistry Referral Guidance and Pan London contact information
- NHS England – Special Care Dentistry Referral Guidance Notes
Priority is given to the following groups:
- Patients with severe disability/impairment who cannot be treated solely in the community dental service
- Special care patients who require general anaesthesia to facilitate dental treatment (out-patient general anaesthetic list)
- Screening/emergency service for haematology patients under the care of University College London Hospital
- Screening / dental stabilisation for Head & Neck Cancer patients under the care of University College London Hospital
- Patients with anxiety in relation to dentistry who may require behavioural management, hypnosis and/or sedation.
We are unable to provide treatment for:
- Tier 1 complexity patients
- Tier 2 complexity patients who can be seen solely within the community dental service.
- Hospitals with whom we do not have a service level agreement (including The Royal Free Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital Paddington, Whittington Hospital)
We do not provide continuing care for patients:
Patients, once they have completed their active treatment, will be discharged back to the care of the referring practitioner.
Referral forms
Waiting times for consultation:
- Routine referrals up to 13 weeks (while we aim to maintain our 13-week waiting, the clinical needs of this group of patients often leads to a variation in waiting times for consultation).
- In order for referrals to be accepted, the referral form should be completed in full, including a complete medical history, medication list, and social history. Please state clearly the treatment modality required and the Case Mix complexity as defined by the BDA Case Mix Tool:
- BDA Case Mix Tool
Access to patient results
Results of investigations will be sent within patient letters.
Referral address
Eastman Central Registry for Appointments (ECRA)
Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals
250 Euston Road
London
WC1E 6DG
Adolescents and Adults (16 years old and over) from the following groups:
- Patients with severe disability/impairment who cannot be treated solely in the community dental service
- Special care patients who require general anaesthesia to facilitate dental treatment (out-patient general anaesthetic list)
- Screening/emergency service for haematology patients under the care of University College London Hospital
- Patients with anxiety in relation to dentistry who may require behavioural management, hypnosis and/or sedation.
We are currently unable to provide treatment for:
- Hospitals with whom we do not have a service level agreement (including The Royal Free Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital Paddington, Whittington Hospital)
- Patients who can be seen solely within the community dental service
- Non ambulatory patients requiring a hoist for transfer.
- Patients who require stretchers for transport to the hospital
