Youby minute 8
Before anything else, we listen
The history, what happened last time, and what you are actually worried about.
This is what the other thirty minutes buy
The principle
We treat your child the way we would treat ours
At Tooth Tales, a visit is never just drill and fill. It’s time spent explaining what we found, why it matters, and how to prevent it from happening again, because the goal isn’t one good appointment. It’s a child who never needs an urgent one.
That’s what “No Decay” actually means here: not a slogan, but a habit we build with you, one unhurried visit at a time.
Forty minutes, not ten
Ten minutes is enough to find a cavity and fill it. It’s not enough for a child to feel at ease in the room. Scroll to see where the other thirty go.
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The decision
We decide every step of your kid’s smile together, not after us
We tell you what we found, what we would do about it, and what we would leave alone. It always is an informed decision as caregivers, at every stage of their lives.
Case 1
Preventive
Age 3- Scenario
- A routine check-up. No visible decay. Your child is three.
- What we found
- Healthy teeth, with deep grooves at higher risk of trapping food and starting decay.
- What we would do
- Apply fluoride and seal the grooves: a few minutes, no numbing, no drill.
- What we would leave alone
- Nothing further. There’s no damage to treat yet, only decay to prevent.
Case 2
Restorative
Age 4- Scenario
- A small cavity in the enamel of an upper back milk tooth. Your child is four.
- What we found
- Early decay, still confined to the enamel.
- What we would do
- Seal it now to stop it progressing, since the surface hasn’t broken. If the seal holds, it avoids a filling altogether.
- What we would leave alone
- A full filling, unless the decay is already through the enamel or causing pain. In that case, it’s numbing, a drill, and a filling in one visit.
Case 3
Corrective
8 months- Scenario
- A tongue-tie noticed at a routine check, affecting feeding. Your child is eight months old.
- What we found
- Restricted tongue movement that’s making latching difficult.
- What we would do
- A simple release procedure: quick, with minimal discomfort, done the same day if feeding is genuinely affected.
- What we would leave alone
- A release, if the tie is mild and feeding is manageable. In that case, we’d monitor instead and only step in if it starts affecting speech or eating as your child grows.
We do not make the decision on our own. We also do not hand you a plan and leave you to work it out. You hear every option, with the reasoning, before anything starts.
The aim is that the next visit is a check-up, not a repair
Most children’s dentistry is spent repairing damage. We would rather spend it stopping damage, and that changes what a check-up is for.
Where a tooth does need work, we take the smallest amount of tooth we can and use bio-ceramic materials.
The goal is fewer root canals, not better root canals.
Special needs care, at any age
We have treated more than 1,000 children with special needs.
AutismADHD
Sensory processingIntellectual disability
Neurodivergent
This is the one part of the clinic that is not limited to children. If you are an adult with special needs, or you care for one, we will see you.
Dr. Sanchit Paul wrote the special needs dentistry chapter in Muthu’s Pediatric Dentistry: Principles and Practice, 3rd edition.
Holds the Dr. J.C. Lee Award from SAAPD for work on laughing gas sedation.
Fifteen years, children only
Tooth Tales has treated children only for fifteen years. We do not take general adult patients. Everything in the clinic is built to one size: the room, the chair, the instruments, the appointment length and the words we use.
15
years treating children only
10,000+
children cared for
25,000+
appointments
1,000+
children with special needs
Who is in the room
Your child is not handed to one person. Three things are true of every appointment, whoever is on that day.
01
A team of six to eight
Every case is handled by a team of six to eight people.
02
Trained for pain, anxiety and emergencies
Our approach to pain and anxiety follows the training set out by SAAD, the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry.
03
What happens to the instruments
Every instrument is sterilised in a hospital-grade autoclave between patients, with no exceptions. Filling materials come in sealed capsules.
A jungle room, an aqua room, and a reception area
The clinic has two treatment rooms, and neither looks like a dental surgery. Before the appointment, you and your child settle in at the reception area.
The jungle room
One of two treatment rooms.
The aqua room
The second treatment room.
The reception area
Where you and your child settle in before the appointment.
What parents say
Google reviews from parents, and reels of families we have treated.
A parent's words
A mother on her daughter's care, a child with special needs
A parent's words
A fellow doctor on our special needs care
Treatment story
A 17-year-old with Down syndrome at his check-up
Treatment story
A 13-year-old with ASD and GDD who travelled from Nigeria
Treatment story
An 11-year-old girl with special needs at her review visit
Treatment story
Gentle check-ups for children with autism