Happy Kids Dental - Where children feel comfortable and confident in their care
Happy Kids Dental is an innovation in early days dentistry. Designed with its younger patient base in mind, it’s more a playground that a paediatric practice and looks set to turn the dental care of under 18s into a fine and focused art.
Situated in the heart of London’s West End, the Marylebone dental clinic’s jungle theme may look like a fun factory, but it has a serious side. Its delivery of dentistry ticks boxes for patients as well as parents with a promotional and preventative approach aimed at creating a dental ‘home’ where children feel comfortable and confident in their care.
The idea was brought to the UK from the States by brother and sister Yevhen Hunyak and Roksolana Mykhalus, second-generation dentists who saw a gap in the market for an exclusively paediatric practice that could truly create long-lasting smiles – in more ways than one. As well as specialist paediatric care, there is a dedicated specialist orthodontic suite, a surgery set up for young patients with special needs, hygiene and endodontic care and maxillofacial surgery. A key factor in their concept is the child-friendly treatment setting. The surgeries offer the option of treatment beds or Belmont chairs, depending on age and requirement, and all equipment is discreetly hidden away in the cabinetry of each of its 15 surgeries to make treatments as stress-free as possible.
With this minimally invasive approach, Happy Kids Dental has also invested in the latest generation of dental technology, including handheld intraoral cameras, the lowest-radiation digital X-ray, inhalation sedation and pain-free computerised anaesthesia with The Wand – which has been particularly fitting for its young, and often nervous, patient base. Helene Schirmer is one of its three dual-qualified dental hygienists and therapists. She believes engaging children early is important and any dental innovations are well-matched with the team’s skills and experience in creating perfect paediatric dental care. She says: ‘One of the key areas that can create anxiety is any invasive treatment. We aim to create a more pleasant experience and build a positive relationship between patient and clinician by also using advanced equipment, such as The Wand, which helps those who may have had a previous negative experience as well as those who have not.’
The computer-assisted anaesthesia system enables practitioners to deliver virtually pain-free and highly predictable single tooth anaesthesia with no collateral numbness. The system offers visual and audible feedback in real time to guide users in accurate identification of the correct location. The handpiece is comfortable to hold in a pencil grip, making it easy to access even tricky areas in small mouths, which is why Helene believes The Wand’s USP complements the essence of the practice ethos at Happy Kids Dental – taking time to understand patients and then addressing their concerns with gentle care. Helene herself has been using The Wand for approximately four years and began doing so in her role working at a hospital, but other team members are also experienced in its use. She says: ‘We have a variety of clinicians from various backgrounds who have vast experience working with children and in special care dentistry and who have been using The Wand for several years.
‘Many sufferers of dental phobia and needle phobia will put off going to the dentist for years, which can mean parents of children who are anxious may find it difficult to take their children to the dentist and cooperate for treatment. ‘For a lot of phobia sufferers, the best form of treatment for their phobia is to find a dentist that understands how they feel and tailors treatment accordingly. We are delighted we can help these kinds of patients by embracing new types of products, such as The Wand, that are specially designed to make dentistry a more comfortable, less stressful and happier experience. Helene considers The Wand a big step in the right direction when it comes to children’s dentistry.
She explains: ‘As it doesn’t look like a conventional syringe [it looks like a pen], its appearance is reassuring to young and anxious patients and fits with our patient-centred and holistic approach to paediatric dental care. ‘We know that all children have some level of fear when visiting the dentist and we aim to get rid of the “fear factor”, stopping them developing a phobia as they grow older. We welcome any innovations that help to make them comfortable accepting treatment and encourages them to maintain stable oral health throughout their lifetime.’
Generally, parents are delighted that something they expected to be a traumatic experience is such a simple and calm experience. As Helene says: ‘I’ve even had a few parents say they wish they could have had The Wand when they’ve needed treatment.’ Whilst this painless injection system may not yet have fully replaced the traditional syringe in dentistry, it certainly has a place in any practice for which the happiness of patients – young or old – is key.
For more information on The Wand, please visit Dental Sky.
