Community Dental Service

Who are we and what do we do?

The Swansea Bay Community Dental Service (CDS) is dedicated to provide dental care for vulnerable adults and children who may have difficulties seeking and receiving dental treatment throughout the Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot areas.

What services does the CDS provide?

We provide clinical services to vulnerable adults and children via fixed clinics across the Swansea, Neath Port Talbot areas providing a full range of dental treatment.

We provide conscious sedation services such as inhalation and intravenous sedation. We are also involved in the general anaesthetic (GA) services for paediatric patients via the GA triage referral pathway and also regional general anaesthesia services for paediatric and adult special care patients.

In addition, we provide domiciliary care working alongside general dental practitioners via a joint pathway to deliver dental care in patients own homes, nursing and residential care homes, rehabilitation units and elderly long stay hospitals. This service is for those who are housebound and/or cannot be expected to travel to a dentist to receive dental treatment.

The CDS also plays an important role in supporting oral health promotion programmes and community-based preventative initiatives such as Designed to Smile, Gwen Am Byth, and being involved in the cluster transformation programme. We also help carry out epidemiology studies for Dental Public Health Wales.

Who can benefit from our care?

Children and adults who have learning disabilities
Children and adults who are medically compromised
People who have mental health problems
Children and adults who have physical disabilities
Children and adults who experience disproportionate dental anxiety
People who have complex social problems and cannot obtain dental care, such as the homeless , refugees, and children supported by social services
People who cannot receive dental care due to geographical isolation
People who are unable to leave their homes to seek care
People in rehabilitation with substance misuse and patients in secure units
Patients who are bariatric i.e weight over 21 stone or 130kg (we accept referrals from Swansea Bay and Cwm Taf areas)
People with a combination of these factors

Where does the CDS provide dental treatment?

We have seven fixed sites within the Swansea Neath Port Talbot area;

Central Clinic, Orchard Street in Swansea City Centre
Port Talbot Resource Centre
Pontardawe Primary Care Centre
Dyfed Road Health Centre in Neath
Sway Road Health Centre in Morriston, Swansea
Ty Einon in Gorseinon, Swansea
Cymmer in Afan Valley

Our main sites which are used are Central Clinic in Swansea and Port Talbot Resource Centre where more specialised care can be given when necessary. Other satellite clinics play an important role in offering closer locations for those who are less able to get to our main sites. We offer domiciliary care for patients who are unable to attend our dental clinics.

How can you access the Community Dental Service?

Our services are different to High Street dental practices. We do not accept self-referrals from patients directly. It is a referral only service

The CDS accepts referrals from a wide range of health care professionals including General Dental Practitioners, General Medical Practitioners (GPs), hospital staff, health visitors, social workers and professional carers of disabled people.

All referrals for treatment are screened and patients will need to meet our strict criteria to ensure they are appropriate for our service. Patients are then allocated to the most appropriate clinic for their needs, which may not necessarily be the closest one.

You should contact your health professional to request a referral.

What facilities does the CDS have?

We provide a range of treatment and facilities across our clinics, which include:

Sedation – inhalation and intravenous sedation useful for those with a dental phobia and special care patients
Bariatric patients – a specialised bariatric chair is situated in Port Talbot Resource Centre (we accept referrals from Swansea Bay and Cwm Taf areas.)
Wheelchair tippers/platforms – patients who are unable to transfer to a dental chair can be treated in their own wheelchair without the use of a hoist
Rhino sensory unit – unique portable unit which produces calming lights, sounds and projecting images amongst other features to calm patient’s senses in clinics. Useful for special care patients to provide a relaxed dental environment
WAND (local anaesthetic system) – use of computer assisted device to help give painless local anaesthesia/injection, useful for those with a needle phobia

Most of our clinics have easy ground floor access or a lift, with accessible parking onsite. We also have interpretation services via language line if required. We are also able to liaise with sign language translators if the patient requires that service. We are able to offer more time with each patient in order to help with their anxiety.

Who works here?

We have an experienced and well- trained team, that includes:

A Consultant in Special Care Dentistry

Two Specialists in Paediatric Dentistry

Dentists with training in sedation and special care

DCT and StR in Paediatric Dentistry and Special Care Dentistry

Therapists, also with additional training

Dental nurses with additional qualifications in sedation, special care, radiology, orthodontics, and oral health education

Our contact details

Community Dental Service, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Central Clinic, 21 Orchard Street, Swansea, SA1 5AT

Contact telephone number: 01792 517838 (Remember the service is by referral only. See 'how to access the service' section above for more details.)

Service Leads

Dr Rohini Mohan - Clinical Lead

Mandy Silva - Senior Service Improvement Manager

Helen Symmons - Operations Manager