General Anaesthetic Dental Consultation Overview

A general anaesthetic dental consultation helps parents understand their child’s hospital dental treatment, including what to expect before the procedure. During a general anaesthetic dental consultation, we explain the treatment process clearly for parents and carers. This general anaesthetic dental consultation includes guidance to help families make informed decisions.

What Happens After Your Consultation

Thank you for attending Kiddies Dental Care today!

Over the next 24 hours, our team prepares your child’s Hospital Treatment Proposal and emails it to you. Before it arrives, please watch this short animated video.

The animation helps you and your child understand what to expect before you decide on treatment under general anaesthetic. We encourage parents and carers to discuss the GA consultation together.

Watch this animation before we provide your dental proposal. It explains costs and what will happen during your child’s day stay at one of our locations.

Important: we prepared this video when face-to-face treatment planning was available. Due to COVID, we now complete consultations via teleconference.

general anaesthetic dental consultation discussion with parents

Questions you may have!

Many parents attending a general anaesthetic dental consultation have similar concerns about safety and treatment. We understand that the thought of your child having surgery under a General Anaesthetic can be stressful, so we have put together some questions you may have while considering this procedure and hope that this information will answer some of those. If you have any other questions, please contact our team. We are happy to help!

Anesthesia is relatively safe and can be given to children of all ages, including newborn babies.

  • Specialist paediatric anaesthetists in Australia are among the world’s most highly trained doctors, having spent years undergoing special training in anaesthesia, pain control and resuscitation and managing medical emergencies. The anaesthetist’s role is to ensure your child doesn’t feel anything during the surgery and we want your child to experience as little pain and discomfort as possible after the operation. While your child is asleep, their anaesthetist will stay with them at all times during the operation and monitor them closely. Today’s equipment is able to tell us a great deal about the patient during anaesthesia and allows us to control the delivery of anaesthetic drugs very carefully. Today there is so much monitoring in the operating theatre that it looks like the cockpit of a jumbo jet.
  • Occasionally parents are concerned about anaesthetics for their children because of bad experiences they had with anaesthetics as a child.  Anaesthetics have changed and now most people find anaesthesia a pleasant experience as the latest agents produce a feeling of well-being.
  • Premedication often affects the memory after the event so children rarely remember going off to sleep. There is no such thing as a light anaesthetic. Every time someone has an anaesthetic the same procedures and safety considerations are put into place. Only the length of the anaesthetic and the type of surgery varies.
  • Small children and occasionally adults can go to sleep with a potent anaesthetic gas mixed with oxygen and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). The newer gases do not have a particularly unpleasant smell. A drip placed in the vein is a way of fast-tracking the onset of anaesthesia. These drugs cause sleep within a few seconds and rapid awakening at the end of the operation. During the operation it is important to control the breathing of the patient carefully. It is sometimes necessary to introduce a tube into the airway and take over control of breathing until the end of the operation. Because this tube is in contact with the vocal cords patients sometimes wake with sore throats or hoarse voices.

  • There are various forms of anaesthesia that your child may receive, depending on the operation he or she is to have. At Kiddies Dental Care the only option we have available is General Anaesthesia– where your child is in a carefully controlled state of uncounsciousness.
  • One Parent is allowed to remain with their child as he or she is anaesthetised depending on the circumstances.
  • Children are usually anaesthetised in a way that is different from that used for adults. If an older child is prepared to have a tube inserted into a vein, known as a cannula, they are anaesthetised via an intravenous injection into the cannula. Anaesthetic cream can be used to numb the skin so the process is painless. Children who don’t wish to have a cannula, may be anaesthetised via a mask delivering an anaesthetic vapour.
  • The procedure is painless but children can sometimes find the experience unpleasant because they are unfamiliar with the people and the environment; and they may find the mask, which is gently put on their face, intrusive and scary, and the vapour smells. This experience has no long-term detrimental effects and after breathing through the mask, it may take up to a few minutes for the child to lose consciousness and be anaesthetised.
  • As the child breathes the vapour and loses consciousness, his or her eyes may roll back. They may snore or move their arms or legs. All these are part of the normal process as the child moves through different stages of sleep.
  • Parents will be asked to leave the room after the child is anaesthetised.

  • Our treatment dates are set by each Hospital Location and we have limited dates and times at each venue
  • We will always offer the next available date for your child’s treatment with your consulting dentist.
  • If this date is not suitable then a later date can be arranged.

Item Codes for Dental Treatment Proposal – why does each item code not have a price allocated to the code?

  • An item/code break down cannot be given because we do not charge for each individual item number we are charging for a set amount of time reserved e.g. 45 MIN, 90 MIN, etc.
  • Your treatment proposal outlines the item codes for the proposed treatment which have been discussed and agreed between parents and our dental Specialist.
  • These codes are what we propose will be completed on the day however at the time of treatment these codes may change or more/ less item codes may be added. This is why we charge a time-based fee to alleviate the stress of added costs on the day if more treatment is required.
  • Your Health fund has a maximum rebate that they pay for each item code so they should be able to advise you what your out of pocket cost will be without an individual item code break down.

To check the level of cover you have with your health fund, ask the following questions:

  • Which Item numbers will I be covered for? – see our treatment proposal for a detailed list of all item numbers to ensure you ask about each item code.
  • Which Item numbers are considered general and which are considered major or specialist cover? – each fund generally has two levels of covers general dental item numbers which have no limit and major / specialist item code numbers which will have a dollar limit for the year. it is best if you can identify not only the item numbers that are covered by your health fund but also if you have a maximum number or maximum rebate for each item number
  • What is the total amount of dental coverage I have for the year or until the anniversary date? – Some Health funds have limits on total amounts they will pay for dental treatments
  • Do I have any waiting periods for Dental Extras? or any of the listed item numbers? When you join a health fund you normally will have a waiting period applied of 3, 6 or 12 months – if you have recently joined or changed health funds it is best to ensure these waiting period are not applicable
  • Am I covered for these items if having them completed in a Private Day Surgery – General Anaesthetic. Please confirm that your fund has an agreement with your chosen location as each fund has separate agreements with all facilities.
  • Provider Numbers for the following Specialists and Locations are listed on the following page – some funds will ask you for the provider number of the treating dentist – Each dentist has a different provider number for each location that they work from. The provider number is the provider to you in the hospital confirmation pack upon booking your treatment.

General Anaesthetic Dental Consultation Locations

For treatment under General Anaesthetics only

After a general anaesthetic dental consultation, treatment is planned at one of our hospital locations. For Patients that require treatment in Hospital under a General Anaesthetic, we currently offer treatment at the following locations.

We treat patients as Day Stay Patients only.

Wyndham Day Surgery
242a Hoppers Lane Werribee
Visit website >

Driving to Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital is in Melbourne’s West located just 15 minutes from the Westgate Bridge.

Paid casual parking is available on site and nearby.

TRAIN
A short 6 minute walk from Hoppers Crossing Train Station on the Werribee Line.

BUS
The Route 498 bus stops near the entrance to Wyndham Day Surgery.

Sydenham Day Surgery
566 Melton Hwy, Sydenham
Visit website >

Take the Calder Park Drive exit from the Calder Freeway. Turn left onto the Melton Hwy Service Road and then turn right into Montrose Court.

Parking is available onsite and in surrounding streets.

TRAIN
Caroline Springs Station or Watergardens Stations are the closest Sydenham Day Surgery.

BUS
Catch the 462 bus from Caroline Springs Station or Watergardens Stations, this will drop you in Calder Park Drive, from here is it a 4 minute walk.
Wyndham Day Surgery.

Ballarat Day Procedure Centre
1119-1123 Howitt Street Wendouree
Visit website >

Ballarat Day Procedure Centre is conveniently located close to Ballarat and its surrounding suburbs.

Parking is available onsite and in surrounding streets.

BUS
Catch the 11 bus from Ballarat Station which leaves every 30 minutes. The bus stop is out the front of Ballarat Day Procedure Centre.

What costs are involved for my child to go to hospital for dental treatment?

COST 1

We encourage you to check with your health fund regarding your out of pocket expenses. Please ensure you investigate the three fees; dental, hospital, and anaesthetist.

COST 2

Estimated costs, depending on which anaesthetist is rostered on the day of treatment.

• Once admission date confirmed the anaesthetist’s contact details will be provided in your confirmation pack should you need to speak to them directly

• The Anaesthetist will contact you prior to the date of treatment to discuss any anaesthetic concerns that you may have and provide you with their fees and charges.

• Anaesthetist charges are above the Medicare scheduled fee however Medicare will partially cover the cost for your anaesthetist,

• The gap may also be partially covered by your private health fund – please confirm with your health fund.

COST 3

• Your child will be admitted to this private day procedure centre. If applicable full payment of the hospital fees by cash, eftpos or credit card to reception is required at the time of admission. Failure to do so will lead to cancellation of the day procedure.

• If you have private health insurance you only pay your hospital excess on the day of treatment and the hospital can claim direct from your health insurance fund. Please phone your health insurance provider to determine your out of pocket expense for the Hospital fee.

• Theatre fee is based on time required for treatment. However if additional time is required to complete the treatment, additional charges will apply.