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ToothNest
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What we do

Complete care for growing smiles

Everything your child's teeth need from the first tooth through the teen years — what each visit actually involves, why children's teeth behave differently from your own, and what to do in the first few minutes if one gets knocked out.

One practice, all the way through childhood

We look after children only, from the very first tooth through to the teen years. That focus is the whole point: the room, the language, the pace and the equipment are all built around small patients rather than borrowed from adult dentistry. Below is what we do, what each visit actually involves, and who it tends to suit.

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First Visit (ages 1+)

A gentle start, on your child’s terms

The first appointment is less about treatment and more about trust. We keep it short, unhurried and low-key so your child learns that the dental chair is a friendly place long before they ever need anything done in it.

What the visit involves

  • A ride in the chair and a look at the tools, before anything touches a tooth
  • Counting teeth, and checking the order and spacing they are arriving in
  • A gentle brush-and-polish if your child is comfortable with it
  • A look at the gums, the tongue and the way the top and bottom teeth meet
  • Time for your questions about teething, brushing, soothers, bottles and snacks

Who it is for

Recommended around the first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth appearing. Teeth usually start coming through at about six months, so for many babies those two moments are close together.

Cleanings & Sealants

Routine care, at a kid’s pace

A regular cleaning keeps small problems small. We work at whatever speed your child needs, name every tool before we use it, and stop for a break the moment they ask.

What the visit involves

  • A kid-paced cleaning and polish, including the back teeth a child brush rarely reaches
  • Fluoride varnish, when it suits your child, to strengthen the enamel surface
  • Sealants over the deep grooves of the back teeth, which is where most cavities in school-age children begin
  • A look at bite, spacing and how the adult teeth underneath are tracking
  • Practical brushing and flossing advice pitched at the age your child is now

Who it is for

Most children come in twice a year. We will tell you honestly if yours needs a different rhythm, and a history of cavities or a new set of molars can both be a reason to come more often for a while.

Cavity Care

Fixed calmly, explained in kid words

Cavities happen, even to children who brush well. We treat them without drama: your child hears what is going to happen in words they understand, and nothing starts until they are ready for it.

What the visit involves

  • Tooth-coloured fillings that blend in
  • Numbing explained as "sleepy juice", never sprung as a surprise
  • Breaks whenever they are needed, and the option to split a longer visit in two
  • A plain-language rundown for you afterwards on what we did and why
  • A word about why that particular tooth decayed, so the next one has a better chance

Who it is for

Any child with a cavity, including one who has had a difficult experience elsewhere. Baby teeth are worth fixing: they hold the space for the adult teeth behind them, and their thinner enamel means decay can reach the sensitive middle of the tooth sooner than it would in an adult.

Gentle Sedation Options

Comfort choices, discussed with you first

Some children need a little extra help to get through a longer appointment, and that is completely reasonable. When comfort options make sense we talk them through with you properly, in advance, and never in a rush on the day.

What the visit involves

  • A full review of your child’s health history before anything is recommended
  • Nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, for many anxious children
  • A clear explanation of what it does, how it feels and how quickly it wears off
  • The freedom to say no and try a slower, unsedated approach instead

Who it is for

Children who feel very anxious, have difficulty sitting for longer treatment, or need several things done at once.

Dental Emergencies

Call us — we keep room in the day

A knocked-out tooth, a swollen face or a toothache that will not settle is frightening for everyone in the house. We hold space in the schedule for urgent cases so you are not left waiting it out.

What the visit involves

  • Same-day appointments for genuine urgencies
  • Advice over the phone while you are on your way in
  • Pain relief and stabilising first, with a longer-term plan afterwards
  • Honest triage: we will tell you if it can safely wait until tomorrow
  • A knocked-out baby tooth and a knocked-out adult tooth are handled very differently, and we will tell you which you are looking at

Who it is for

Any child in pain, bleeding that will not stop, a knocked-out or badly broken tooth, or facial swelling. There is first-aid advice further down this page for the few minutes before you reach us.

Special Needs Care

Predictable visits, built around your child

Every child deserves dental care that fits how they experience the world. We plan these visits with you beforehand rather than improvising on the day, and we are happy to take several appointments to get somewhere another practice might try to reach in one.

What the visit involves

  • A pre-visit conversation about triggers, routines and what has worked before
  • Longer appointments, quieter times of day, and the same room each visit where we can
  • Desensitising visits where nothing is done except getting comfortable
  • Room for a favourite toy, headphones, a weighted blanket or a familiar routine

Who it is for

Children of all abilities, including those who find noise, light, touch or unfamiliar places difficult.

Why children get their own dentist

Children’s teeth are not small adult teeth

They behave differently, they fail differently, and they are on a schedule. Four things are worth knowing, because they explain most of the advice you will hear from us.

Baby teeth hold the space

Each baby tooth keeps a place open for the adult tooth forming in the gum above it. If one is lost early to decay or an accident, the teeth on either side tend to drift into the gap, and the adult tooth arrives to find less room than it needs. That is the honest answer to why we bother treating a tooth that was going to fall out anyway.

The enamel is thinner

A baby tooth has a thinner enamel shell than an adult one, so decay that begins on the surface reaches the softer inside sooner. A small mark you were told to keep an eye on really can be a bigger job six months later. It is the main reason we would rather see your child twice a year than once.

New back teeth have deep grooves

The chewing surface of a freshly arrived molar is folded into narrow pits and grooves, and a child-sized brush simply cannot get down into them. Most cavities in school-age children start in exactly those grooves, which is what a sealant is for.

The six-year molars catch parents out

The first adult molars usually appear around age six, right at the back, without any baby tooth falling out to announce them. Plenty of parents reasonably assume they are baby teeth that will be replaced later. They will not be: those are permanent teeth, and they are worth protecting from the week they arrive.

What a sealant actually is

A thin coating painted into the grooves on the chewing surface of a back tooth, so that food and bacteria cannot settle somewhere a brush will never reach. It takes a few minutes per tooth, there is no drilling and nothing needs numbing, and your child can eat straight afterwards. We usually suggest one soon after a permanent molar comes through, and we check it at every visit, because sealants do wear.

What fluoride is doing

Fluoride strengthens the enamel surface, and can help very early damage repair itself before it ever becomes a hole. Your child gets it from toothpaste at home and, when it suits them, from a varnish we brush on at a visit. The amount matters, which is why we talk about toothpaste quantities by age rather than giving every family the same answer.

A rough map

What arrives when

Children keep their own timetable, and a few months either side of any of this is perfectly ordinary. Use it to know roughly what stage you are at, not to worry about being behind.

  1. Around six months

    The first teeth push through, usually the two at the bottom front. Sore gums, dribbling and a determination to chew on everything are all part of it.

  2. Around age three

    A full set of twenty baby teeth is normally in place. Timing varies a great deal between children, and arriving early or late is usually just your child’s own pace rather than a problem.

  3. Around age six

    The first adult molars arrive at the very back, and the front baby teeth start to loosen. This is when mouths look their most chaotic, and it is completely normal.

  4. Around age seven

    A sensible moment for a first look at how the bite and the jaws are developing, while there is still growth left to work with.

  5. The early teens

    The last baby teeth give way. We pay particular attention to the newest molars, because they are the ones most likely to be worth sealing.

Mouthguards for sport

If your child plays anything with contact, speed or a stick involved, a mouthguard is the cheapest dental insurance going. A shop-bought one is far better than nothing, and a moulded one made to your child’s own mouth tends to fit better, which matters mostly because a guard that fits is a guard that actually gets worn. Children grow, so expect to replace it as the mouth changes. Bring it to a check-up and we will look at how it sits.

When to have the bite looked at

Most children need nothing done at seven, but seven is a good age for a first look. Enough adult teeth have arrived by then to show where the bite is heading, and there is still plenty of jaw growth left if guiding it early would help. Often the right answer is to watch and check again in a year, and we will say so rather than starting something for the sake of it.

In the first few minutes

If a tooth is knocked out or broken

Worth reading before you need it. What you do in the first few minutes genuinely changes what we can do afterwards, and a baby tooth and an adult tooth need opposite things.

Call us first, whatever else you do

With a knocked-out adult tooth the first hour matters more than anything you can read. Phone us on your way, describe what happened, and we will talk you through it while you travel.

An adult tooth that has come right out

Pick it up by the crown, the chewing part, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk or saline. Do not scrub it, and do not let it dry out.

Putting it back, if you can

If you can manage it, slip the tooth back into its socket the right way round and have your child hold it in place, biting gently on a clean cloth. If you cannot, or your child will not let you, drop the tooth into a cup of milk and bring it with you. Milk is much better than water.

A baby tooth is different

Do not try to put a knocked-out baby tooth back in. Pushing it back into the socket risks damaging the adult tooth developing underneath. Keep your child comfortable, bring the tooth if you have it, and call us.

A chipped or broken tooth

Find the broken piece if you can and keep it in milk, since it can sometimes be bonded back on. Even when it cannot, we want to see how deep the break goes and whether the nerve has been exposed.

Bleeding and swelling

Press a clean cloth firmly on the spot for a few minutes to slow bleeding, and hold a cold pack against the cheek for swelling. If there was a blow to the head, or your child is drowsy, confused or being sick, that is a hospital matter first and a dental one second.

Call (000) 000 0000
Not sure when to come in?

A simple way to decide

You do not need to diagnose anything before you call. If you are unsure, describe what you are seeing and we will tell you honestly how urgent it is.

Book a routine visit

It has been six months, a new tooth has come through, or your child has never been seen by a dentist before.

Book sooner than planned

You have spotted a white or brown mark on a tooth, a chipped edge, bleeding gums, or your child has started avoiding one side when they chew.

Call us today

There is real pain, facial swelling, bleeding that will not stop, or a tooth has been knocked out or badly broken.

Book a VisitSee how a visit goes