Dental care for autistic and neurodivergent kids in Toowoomba
Quieter, slower, and predictable. We tell your child exactly what is going to happen before it happens — and we stop when they need us to stop.
How we see children here
Some children sit down and open wide the first time. Some need to come back four or five times before anyone looks in their mouth. Both are normal, and neither is better.
So we do it in four visits. You pick the one that fits your child today. There is no passing or failing, and you can go back a step whenever you need to.
Every visit below is with Amber, our oral health therapist, who has a special interest in preventive care for children. Same person, same room, every time.
The four visits
Hello visit
10 minutes · $45, or bulk billed under the CDBS for eligible families.
Come in, sit in the chair, ride it up and down, look at the light, touch the tools, hear the noises. Nothing goes in the mouth — even if your child seems happy to do more.
Counting visit
10 minutes · $45, or bulk billed under the CDBS for eligible families.
A small mirror goes in, we count all the teeth out loud, and try the air and water squirter. Still no cleaning.
Check and clean visit
30 minutes · $130 capped, or bulk billed under the CDBS for eligible families.
Counting, plus a brush or polish, plus fluoride. This is a normal check-up and clean.
Fixing visit
30–40 minutes depending on what is needed · fee quoted in writing beforehand, or bulk billed under the CDBS for eligible families.
Numbing gel, an injection, and the filling.
Most families come about once a month. Some children reach a check and clean visit after three visits, some after fifteen. We repeat a visit until it is boring — boring is the goal.
We never do more than the visit you booked. If your child is going brilliantly, we still stop where we said we would stop, and book the next one up.
Which visit should I book?
Answer these about your child on an average day — not their best day.
- Will they walk into the room and sit in the dental chair on their own?
- Will they let someone put a small mirror in their mouth and look all the way round?
- Will they let someone brush or polish their teeth in the chair?
- Have they had an injection at the dentist and coped with it?
Now count how many you answered yes to:
- None — book a Hello visit.
- One — book a Counting visit.
- Two — book a check and clean visit.
- Three or four — book a normal children's appointment.
If you are unsure, go one lower. Nobody has ever been upset by an appointment that turned out to be too easy. Call us on 07 4635 1444 and we will work it out with you on the phone.
Happy gas: your child needs a Hello visit first
Happy gas (nitrous oxide) only works if a child can wear a small mask over their nose, breathe through their nose, and stay reasonably still. The gas does not make those things possible — it needs them to already be there.
So we cannot decide over the phone whether happy gas will suit your child, and we will not book it as a first appointment. Every child does a Hello visit first so we can see how they go with the chair and the mask. That visit tells us far more than any conversation can, and it costs $45 or is bulk billed under the CDBS if your child is eligible.
If happy gas is suitable, it is $97 per appointment on top of the treatment fee. There is more about how it works on our dental anxiety page.
Putting a mask on a child who is not ready for it usually makes the next visit harder, not easier. That is why we do it this way round.
When we do not go further
We will not push. If a child is not ready, we stop and book another visit at the same level for as long as it takes.
But building confidence is not always the right answer, and we will tell you honestly when we think it is not:
- If your child needs a lot of treatment, having it done under general anaesthetic in one appointment is often kinder than working through many short ones. Sometimes that is simply the better option, not a failure.
- If we think a paediatric dentist is the right person, we will say so and refer you. They have training and facilities that we do not.
Either way we will talk it through with you first. You will not turn up to find the plan has changed without you.
Is your child autistic, ADHD, or sensory sensitive?
Same four visits. Same pace. What changes is what we put around them — and often it simply means more Hello visits before the rest. That is not a delay. That is the treatment.
Before you come
- Call and tell us what helps and what to avoid, and we will put it in your child's notes before you arrive.
- Ask for a quieter time of day when you book, and we will find one.
- Tell us the words your child uses, and the words that frighten them, so we use the right ones.
- Ask us to send you the appointment details in writing so you can go through it at home first.
In the room
- We can dim the overhead light, skip the polishing paste, and leave the ultrasonic scaler in the drawer.
- Bring headphones, music, sunglasses or a favourite object — we will not ask your child to take them off.
- Hand up means stop. Every time, immediately, without negotiating.
- We say out loud at the start exactly what is happening today, and then nothing else happens.
- Your child decides whether to add one new thing. We do not.
- You are welcome to stay in the room, and your child can sit on your lap in the chair if that helps.
Afterwards
- We write down what worked and what did not, so nobody has to explain your child from scratch next time.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child need a diagnosis for any of this?
No. The four visits are for any child, diagnosed or not. If your child finds the dentist hard, you can book a Hello visit without explaining why.
Is a Hello visit covered by the CDBS?
If your child is eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, it can be bulk billed with Medicare like their other covered services, within the scheme's two-year cap. Call us on 07 4635 1444 with your child's Medicare number and we will check eligibility in a minute or two.
How many visits will it take?
We cannot tell you, and we would not trust anyone who could. Some children are ready for a clean after three visits, some after fifteen. Most families come about once a month.
Can we go back a step?
Yes, any time, for any reason. A hard week, a change at school, or a bad day is reason enough. Going back a step is part of how this works, not a setback.
Will my child see the same person each time?
That is what we aim for, and we will book around it wherever we can. Tell reception it matters to your child and they will work with you on it.
What if my child will not get out of the car?
Then that was the visit. Call us and we will book the next one. It happens more often than you would think, and nobody here is surprised by it.
Book your child's visit
Call us on 07 4635 1444 and tell us which visit you would like — or tell us about your child and we will work it out together. Related pages: Children's dentistry · Helping an anxious child · CDBS guide · Dental anxiety · Pricing guide