N.B. child still waiting for dental surgery after two years

Frankie Henderson, a 10-year-old girl in Rusagonis on the outskirts of Fredericton, has been waiting nearly two years for what started out as just two dental fillings.

She now needs at least seven fillings and two to three extractions, and one cavity has reached nerve tissue.

“It’s getting worse now, like her front teeth are affected,” said Erica Henderson, Frankie’s mother. “What if we have to wait for another year or more?

“She might lose her teeth and those are her adult teeth, that’s the frustrating part.” 

Henderson said her daughter has autism and an anxiety disorder, which makes getting the procedure done in a general dentist’s office difficult.

She was referred to Moncton-based Dr. Tom Raddall, New Brunswick’s only board-certified pediatric dental specialist.

Raddall sees patients with complex medical needs, children who are very young or high-risk and sometimes must have their procedures done in a hospital, with general anesthetic or intubation.

Frankie is now on the waitlist for surgery at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, where the wait time is shorter.

Hundreds waiting for surgery

According to Raddall, Frankie isn’t alone. More than 300 of his patients across New Brunswick are waiting for dental surgery.

“Typically, that’s resulting in my patients waiting one to two years,” he said.