Bedford Dental Care Clinic - Clinics - Community Dental Services (2023)

We know that some patients can have difficulties in accessing dental care. We’re here to give high quality treatment and a caring, understanding approach to children and adults with additional needs.

What services do you offer?

We are experienced in treating patients with a wide range of additional needs, supporting them and their families and carers through dental treatment.

We have ground floor clinics that are accessible to wheelchair users. Some of our clinics have wheelchair recliners, hoists and bariatric dental chairs.

We provide a caring, understanding environment for patients with learning disabilities.

We build long-term relationships with our patients. We pride ourselves on our good communication with hospital services, social services, specialist learning disability services and special schools.

We provide dental care with:

• Behaviour management techniques
• Inhalation sedation
• Intravenous sedation
• General anaesthesia

Do you accept referrals?

We are a referral only service.

We sometimes provide treatment using general anaesthesia for patients referred into our services. We will discuss if this is appropriate and the options available with you during an appointment

Treatment will only be carried out in agreement with you and in a way that you are happy with. If you have been assessed as requiring dental treatment under general anaesthesia, the dentist will book you an appointment and give you instructions on what to do before that appointment, on the day of appointment and after your treatment. All your dental treatment will usually be done in one appointment under general anaesthesia.

Gum diseases, also known as periodontal disease, including gingivitis and periodontitis, are serious infections that, left untreated, can lead to tooth loss.

Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. This can affect one tooth or many teeth and begins when the bacteria in plaque (the sticky, colourless film that constantly forms on your teeth) causes the gums to become inflamed.

Periodontists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of gum disease. Our service is consultant led but is delivered by specialists, specialists in training who are at the end of their training programme and dentists with enhanced periodontal skills.

Assessment
At your first appointment with us you will be seen by a dentist who will assess your dental needs. You will be asked to provide information about your general health, including any medications you take and you will also be asked whether you pay for NHS dental treatment.

An assessment appointment usually takes between 20 and 40 minutes. After the dentist has checked your mouth and teeth, they will talk to you about any treatment needed. If treatment is needed the dentist will discuss the options available to you.

Non-Surgical Treatments
Non-surgical periodontal treatments include scaling and root planing (a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus [tartar] from deep gum pockets and to smooth the tooth root to remove bacterial toxins), followed by oral therapy, as needed on a case-by-case basis.

Periodontal Surgery
Periodontal surgery may be necessary if on your assessment it is shown that the tissue around your teeth is unhealthy and cannot be repaired with non-surgical treatment.

The four types of surgical treatments most commonly prescribed are:

Pocket Reduction Procedures
Regenerative Procedures
Crown Lengthening
Soft Tissue Grafts
Treatment
Treatment will only be carried out in agreement with you and in a way that you are happy with. The dentist may also offer you an appointment with our Oral Health Promotion Team to help you keep your teeth and mouth healthy to try to avoid further treatment.

We have clinics in all our services that can accommodate patients who require bariatric facilities.

If you find a standard dentist chair uncomfortable, please contact us to find out more.

Root Canal treatment, also known as endodontic treatment, is carried out when the soft pulp tissue (nerve and blood vessels) normally contained in the centre of the tooth becomes diseased or dies. This may lead to inflammation or infection (an abscess) in the surrounding jaw bone causing pain and swelling at the end of the tooth root, although it can sometimes remain pain-free.

An Endodontist is a dentist who specialises in Endodontic treatment. Our service is consultant led but is delivered by Specialists, Specialists in Training who are at the end of their training programme and dentists with enhanced endodontic skills.

Assessment
At your first appointment with us you will be seen by a dentist who will assess your dental needs. You will be asked to provide information about your general health, including any medications you take and you will also be asked whether you pay for NHS dental treatment.

An assessment appointment usually takes between 20 and 40 minutes. After the dentist has checked your mouth and teeth, they will talk to you about any treatment needed. If treatment is needed the dentist will discuss the options available to you.

Treatment
Treatment will only be carried out in agreement with you and in a way that you are happy with. The dentist may also offer you an appointment with our Oral Health Promotion Team to help you keep your teeth and mouth healthy to try to avoid further treatment.

It is important for you and your family to visit your dentist on a regular basis. We are different from a regualr High Street dentist, in that we provide dental care to people who find it hard to visit a regular dentist, often the most vulnerable in society, as well as providing specialist advice and care for some of the more complex dental problems.

At Community Dental Services we do also offer some routine dental care but, depending upon the age of the patient, only in some of our clinics and then depending upon availability of appointments.

We treat children up until the age of 18 in all our clinics.

We treat adults over the age of 18 in the following clinics:
Dental Care Centre

London Road Dental Clinic
Queens Park Dental Clinic
Sandy Dental Clinic
Leighton Buzzard Dental Clinic
Our patients receiving routine care will be offered a full course of treatment as clinically appropriate. Courses of treatment are provided on the NHS and are subject to NHS charges unless you hold a valid exemption certificate. We offer the full range of care which is acceptable under NHS rules and regulations.

We also offer some private paid for dental care, which some patients may choose to opt for.

We know that some patients can have difficulties in accessing dental care. We’re here to give high quality treatment and a caring, understanding approach to children and adults with additional needs.