Charles Clifford Dental Services provide a consultant-led service providing management of oral health problems in children and young people under the age of 16 years. This includes treatment for children with additional needs, anxious patients, and complex dental care for children and adolescents. Joint Clinics are held with Restorative Dentistry, Orthodontics, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and as part of the Cleft Lip and Palate Team.
The Paediatric Dental Department is primarily based at Charles Clifford which is a University Dental Teaching Hospital. Since 2019 there has been an outreach Paediatric Dentistry Hub at Wheata Place Dental Clinic in the north of the city in Parson Cross providing a consultant-led service.
Facilities exist for the provision of treatment under inhalation sedation at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital and Wheata Place Dental Clinic. General anaesthesia and intravenous sedation is available by our team at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. There are also close links with all paediatric medical and surgical specialties based at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Charles Clifford Dental Hospital is situated 1.25 miles from and to the west of the city centre.
The hospital is served by several bus routes. A guide is available from Travel South Yorkshire. Supertram can be used to reach Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, the nearest stop (University) is a 10-minute walk.
The Paediatric Department is located on the ground floor of the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield.
There is no car parking facilities at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital. There are facilities provided by the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Jessop Wing Hospital. There is also a Q-Park on Durham Road, close to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Car parks are well signposted.
For further information, please click here
Wheata Place Dental Clinic is situated in the north of the city in Parson Cross.
The following buses stop right outside the clinic: 7, 8, 8a and 32.
If travelling by car there is ample parking facilities at Wheata Place Dental Clinic and nearby streets.
Where we provide care?
The majority of dental care is provided within the Paediatric Dental Department at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital. Patients also may be seen within our outreach clinic at Wheata Place Dental Clinic in Parson Cross dependent on their individual needs and locality. Our team also provide care under General Anaesthesia and Intravenous Sedation at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
We work closely with Sheffield Community and Special Care Dental Service and patients can be directly referred to their services if they meet their acceptance criteria. This can be obtained by the Central Referrals Coordinator at Firth Park Clinic (0114 307 8572).
Who can access our service?
The paediatric dental department does not provide a routine dental access service for children. If a child attends the Dental Hospital in pain they will be directed back to their local primary health provider. If they are not registered with a dentist, they will be signposted to the NHS Direct local helpline (111).
Dental Practitioners wishing to make an emergency referral for a child under their care with acute extra-oral swelling, or acute dentoalveolar injury, must telephone the Department and speak to the Consultant in charge on the day, before sending a patient to the Dental Hospital. This ensures your patient receives the best appropriate care.
Patients must be under 16 years of age and satisfy at least one of the following criteria to be considered for advice and/or treatment:
Children with developmental problems, additional needs, learning difficulties, autism and behavioural problems, who are unable to co-operate for routine dental care and if no specialist service available at local Community Dental Services
Children who have sustained complex dental trauma (e.g. pulp involvement of immature permanent teeth, avulsion of permanent teeth)
Children with complex medical problems (e.g. complex congenital cardiac abnormalities, bleeding disorders, severe neurological disease) which may affect the provision of dental care
Dental anomalies and oral developmental problems e.g. hypodontia, molar incisor hypomineralisation, micro/macro-dontia, Amelogenesis Imperfecta, supernumerary teeth, infra-occluded teeth)
Multidisciplinary care (e.g. cleft lip and palate, those requiring sedation or general anaesthesia, or with oncology, oral medicine or genetic problems)
Children with extreme dental anxiety who have proven unable to co-operate with routine dental treatment, and may require sedation or treatment under General Anaesthesia (where no local service is available).
We do not accept referral for:
Referrals must be made on the Charles Clifford Dental Service Referral Form page
Patients may be seen within our outreach clinic at Wheata Place Dental Clinic in Parson Cross. We request referrers to complete the Charles Clifford Dental Service referral form to Charles Clifford Dental Hospital. The Paediatric Dentistry team will offer patients appointments at Wheata Place Dental Clinic dependent on the individual needs of the patient and the patient’s locality. Furthermore, if it is noted that there are Specialist Paediatric Dental Services locally to the patient we may request you to redirect the referral to these services.
Referrers should ensure the following have been completed or the referral will not be accepted:
How to find us
The Paediatric Dentistry Team are primarily based at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital but do offer care at a hub clinic called Wheata Place Dental Clinic. The booking team and any letters will make it clear where your child’s appointment will be.
Charles Clifford Dental Hospital is situated 1.25 miles from and to the west of the city centre.
The hospital is served by several bus routes. A guide is available from Travel South Yorkshire (hyperlink). Supertram can be used to reach Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, the nearest stop (University) is a 10-minute walk.
The Paediatric Department is located on the ground floor of the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield.
There is no car parking facilities at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital. There are limited parking facilities provided by the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Jessop Wing Hospital. There is also a Q-Park on Durham Road, close to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Car parks are well signposted.
For further information, please click here
Wheata Place Dental Clinic
Wheata Place Dental Clinic is situated in the north of the city in Parson Cross.
If travelling by car there is ample parking facilities at Wheata Place Dental Clinic and nearby streets. The postcode for your Sat Nav is S5 9JH
At this first appointment one of our dentists will look at your child's teeth and talk to you about your child's dental condition. They will ask you about their health and may arrange x-rays or other tests.
The next step is to discuss treatment options with you and your child. Treatment will start on another day, either at the Dental Hospital, Wheata Place Dental Clinic or at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. You will meet our dental nurses and other team members who run clinics to give you and your child advice about keeping their teeth and mouth healthy through correct brushing and the right diet. This is called “dental prevention” and is an important part of treatment.
Depending on the type of treatment your child needs, they may be looked after by a number of different dentists at different stages of their training. We may also ask your regular dentist to provide the dental treatment.
What if my child is worried about the dentist?
We are experts in helping children and young people who are worried about the dentist. Some of our team have helped to develop a website which gives lots of tips for children and young people. This advice can help in becoming more confident about the dentist. There is also some good advice for parents on how you can help. The website can be accessed here
Please call us on 0114 272 7838. Please tell us as soon as possible so we can offer your appointment to another patient.
Patient information leaflets
This page lists leaflets produced or used by our department.
Inhalation sedation (gas and air)
Inhalation sedation is where the dentist gives a special to breathe through the nose. The gas is made of a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide (sometimes called ‘laughing gas’). If your child is nervous about having dental treatment it can help to make them feel more relaxed during their visit. It does NOT put your child to sleep, and it is still possible to talk and ask questions whilst having treatment.
Intravenous sedation is where a specialist doctor, called an anaesthetist, gives a sedative medicine through a narrow tube, called a cannula, on the back of the hand. It can help to make them feel more relaxed during their treatment. It does NOT put your child to sleep, and it is still possible to talk and ask questions whilst having treatment.
This leaflet explains what to expect when children and young people have dental treatment with a general anaesthesia.
British Society of Paediatric Dentistry – A Practical Guide to Children’s Teeth
Dental widgit sheets - A set of information sheets designed to help patients with learning difficulties understand the procedures, sequence of events and people associated with a visit to the dentist.
Rees Bear has an anaesthestic – A Story for younger children about having an anaesthetic
Davy the detective: Finding out about anaesthetics – Information about anaesthesia for young people
General anaesthesia: a brief guide for young people
Little Journey App – download on Google Play or Apple App Store
