KSS Minor Oral Surgery hires clinical space from a number of dental practices across Kent, Surrey and Sussex in order to offer convenience with a choice of locations to our patients. The practices are merely our hosts but have been through a thorough CQC and NHS accreditation process. All communications should therefore be with KSS Minor Oral Surgery rather than the dental practice. You will not be registered as a patient with the dental practice, so they do not have access to any of your records and will therefore be unable to assist you with any queries.

Our team will endeavour to complete your care during the one appointment. With our experience, there will be ample time to make a full assessment, discuss the treatment options with you and answer all of your questions prior to going ahead and completing the treatment. If you do feel that you would prefer the treatment to be postponed to a subsequent visit, then that is of course your prerogative and we would be happy to accommodate your needs

That is not a problem. Please let us know on 01622 236249 or by e-mailing ujpatel.imos@nhs.net and we will re-arrange everything to your convenience. Please do give us at least 24 hours' notice as this will give an opportunity for another patient to be offered the vacant slot.

This appointment will not take place in the hospital it will take place at one of our clinic locations which are based within a dental practice. You will be seen by the same type of doctor that you’d expect to see in a hospital, an Oral Surgeon. You will receive the same level of care as you would in hospital but it’s just a way to make treatment more accessible and convenient for the patient. If our surgeon feels you are better suited to a hospital setting, they will be discharged from our care and referred to the closest hospital with an oral surgery department.

All treatment is carried out under local anaesthetic (an injection inside the mouth, as you’d expect with a normal dental procedure), there is rarely any reason why a general anaesthetic (putting you to sleep) would be necessary for a minor oral surgery procedure and often the risks of this type of anaesthetic far outweighs the need for it in this scenario. People are often surprised at the ease of this type of procedure, as you are being seen by an oral surgeon you are in exceptionally skilled hands, this is what they do day in day out and they have access to more sophisticated equipment to make the procedure as straightforward and as comfortable as possible. If you are very nervous, please call us prior to your appointment to discuss the procedure and see how you feel, if you simply feel that treatment under local anaesthetic is not an option we can then make a decide whether to re-refer you to a local sedation clinic or hospital for assessment for treatment Please note that sedation clinic and hospital waiting lists are very long and you may be waiting several months for an appointment. We currently do not provide sedation, however if this changes, we will update the website appropriately.

Yes, your procedure will be carried out under local anaesthetic (an injection inside the mouth, as you’d expect with a normal dental procedure) therefore you will be fine to drive afterwards.

No, your procedure will be carried out under local anaesthetic (an injection inside the mouth, as you’d expect with a normal dental procedure) therefore you will be fine to leave unescorted however should you wish to bring someone for company or moral support you are very welcome to do so, but please discuss this with our booking team as we need to ensure there are no space limitations/restrictions at the practice site.

Most people are fine to return to their normal activities straight away however we will ask you to take it easy for the first 48 hours to help the healing process so you will need to avoid strenuous activity during this time. It is reasonable to expect some minor discomfort for the first few days and this can be managed with over-the-counter pain medication. Information about pain relief and what to expect after the procedure can be found on ‘useful information’ page for patients (click here)

Depends what you do for a job, if you have a very physical job, it would be advisable to take the following day off, also if your job requires face to face interactions or lots of talking then you may wish to have a day off to recover. Most people are fine to return to work quickly but you may just want to see how you feel.

In most cases it is fine to fly a few days after treatment, if you have a large infection or the tooth to be removed is close to your sinus (hollow space behind your cheeks) then it may be necessary to delay flying for a few weeks after treatment to avoid complications. If you are due to fly soon after your appointment, please discuss this with the bookings team so an appropriate appointment is made.

We use fast acting local anaesthetic and will make sure you are fully numb before starting any treatment. You may feel pressure but should not feel any pain during the procedure. When the area comes round after the anaesthetic you may wish to take your usual painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. The area will be sore for a few days after the procedure. This is to be expected.

In some cases, it is necessary to adopt a surgical approach to remove a tooth or root fragment, if this is the case you will be fully numb and will not feel any pain. In these situations, it may be necessary for us to place some stiches, this will naturally dissolve away over 10-14 days. Any residual stiches after this time that are bothering you may be removed either by seeing your own dentist or calling us to arrange an appointment.

Yes. Please continue to eat and drink as normal before your appointment, the last thing we would want is for you to attend your appointment with low blood sugar as this can cause issues with treatment. Please also remember you may not feel like eating or drinking after the procedure as you will feel numb, so it is best to eat something before you come to your appointment.

Your dentist has referred you to our care to undergo a specific type of treatment, they have supplied us with all the relevant records, your medical history and copies of appropriate x-rays. This means that in most cases we are able to carry out the requested treatment at this appointment under local anaesthetic without a prior consultation. Sometimes the surgeon may not be able to carry out treatment on the day as further information is needed; there is no indication evident for treatment; or you may need to be referred to a different setting. In some cases, it may be necessary to book you in for an initial consultation (you will generally be informed of this at time of booking) prior to going ahead with booking a treatment appointment.

Unless you have been told by your GP or advised by our team to stop then you MUST NOT stop taking your medication.

This information should have been sent to us with your referral. However, sometimes we do not receive all the information. At time of booking your appointment it is important to advise us if you take any of the following types of medication:

• Blood ‘thinners’ - any medication which is intended to reduce clotting
• Bisphosphonates – medication for bone issues such as Osteoporosis. We will need to know how long you have been taken them for, how frequent and whether its orally (tablet) or injection.
• Oral Steroids (tablets) – we will need to know how long you have been taking them for, the reason why, and the dosage.

This depends on the pathway you have been referred via. There is no cost for NHS patients referred via NHS pathway if this treatment is part of a full course of dental treatment with the referring dentist. If you are a private patient referred via the NHS pathway you will be charged a Band1 or Band2 NHS fee depending on whether you have a consultation only or treatment too If you have been referred via the Private pathway an indication of the fees can be found on the 'Private Referrals' page. Actual costs will be discussed at time of booking. Please feel free to contact us if you need clarification on costs.

Please allow yourself 1 hour at the location. This does not mean you will be undergoing treatment for this whole time. This is to allow for any unscheduled delays we may have in our day and also for any prolonged recover time that you may need. Generally, you will be in treatment and consultation for no longer than 30 minutes. We try our best to keep clinics running to time however sometimes delays do occur.

In most cases, following treatment you will be discharged back to the care of your general dentist. If multiple teeth have been requested and require multiple appointments this will be arranged by our bookings team for you. In some instances, you may require follow up care related to the treatment we have provided and a review appointment will be scheduled for you.

Please call us on 01622 236249 during normal office hours or email on ujpatel.imos@nhs.net