OUR son, who has cerebral palsy, experiences difficulties when requiring routine dental treatment.

He attends the dental surgery, but because of his involuntary movements, the dentist is unable to carry out any treatment. The dentist then refers him to the dental hospital. This referral can take several months. In fact on one occasion it was 18 months.

The hospital assess him and book him in for treatment, which requires sedation. This again can involve a wait of between four to six months, or longer.

So, the process of attending the dentist and actually having treatment takes many months. Goodness knows what would happen if he had severe toothache.

We have asked the dental hospital why he just cannot attend there every six months to cut down on the delay, but we have been informed that it is a funding issue and he must attend the dentist initially.

We would be interested to hear if any of your readers have similar experiences.

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