Children’s dental treatment by undergraduate students

Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) works with the University of Birmingham School of Dentistry to provide training for senior (fourth or fifth year) undergraduate dental students in children's dentistry.

As part of their training, undergraduate dental students are closely supervised by qualified dentists. Their treatment is assessed and checked by the supervising qualified dentist to ensure it satisfies the high standard of dental care expected by our service.

Your child may be offered treatment with our undergraduate dental students for the following reasons:

• The treatment is within the competencies expected of our undergraduate dental students (such as x-rays, cleaning, fissure sealants, or simple fillings and crowns)
• Your child can be seen sooner than if they had to wait to be seen by our qualified dentists, and their treatment is suitable for undergraduate dental students
• The treatment required provides a unique or rare opportunity for our undergraduate dental students to experience the management of a specific dental problem under supervision (such as children with extra teeth, missing teeth, delayed eruption of teeth, deep decay, hypoplasia, dental trauma, or other dental emergencies)

The following treatments are not provided by our undergraduate dental students:

• Dental implants, permanent crowns, and bridgework (which are not suitable for children)
• Tooth whitening
• Repeated and complex root canal treatment
• Complex gum problems

In addition, your child may not be suitable if:

• They are unable to cope with long appointments
• They have a complex medical history
• They require treatment under sedation or general anaesthesia

There should be no difference in the quality or standard of care provided, but treatment may take longer as the supervising dentist will assess the treatment carried out at each stage. You may have to wait longer to be seen if our student clinic is running late. At times, the supervising dentist may take over dental care if needed.

You do not need to agree to have dental treatment with our undergraduate dental students, and you can withdraw consent at any point. We welcome feedback, which will form part of the assessment of our undergraduate dental students.

If your child is suitable for treatment in our student clinic, you will be made aware of this by one of the members of the dental team.

If you have any questions about dental treatment at our student clinic, you can contact our Stafford clinic at 0300 124 0110