The Northern Health Region provides the Pediatric Dental Program at Thompson General Hospital. This program allows eligible children to receive dental treatment under general anesthesia in an operating room locally in Thompson, saving families the expense and time of travelling to Winnipeg for treatment.  

As a hospital-based service, anesthesia and hospital facility/administration fees are paid for by the program but not the actual cost of dental services provided. This remains the responsibility of the child’s parent/guardian.

All dental treatments will be provided under general anesthesia and will be completed by a Pediatric Dental Specialist licensed to practice in the province of Manitoba. Dental surgeries are currently scheduled to take place 1-2 weeks per month based on medical and dental staff availability. Please note that the program is unable to accept requests for treatment to be provided by a specific Pediatric Dentist.

To refer a child to the Pediatric Dental Program, please confirm all of the following apply:

• Child is between the ages of 2-6 years-old
• Child is healthy or has only a mild/well-controlled systemic disease (e.g.,asthma).
• Extent of treatment and/or patient age/behaviour warrants treatment under general anesthesia

A referral should be completed in full by the referring dentist and sent directly to the NRHA Pediatric Dental Program. In addition, the child will be required to have a history and physical examination completed to ensure they are medically suitable for the program. The history and physical exam can be completed by your primary care provider or primary care clinic. The completed history and physical will need to be forwarded directly from the primary care clinic to the NRHA Pediatric Dental Program.

Once the referral has been received, the Pediatric Dental Program Coordinator will contact the parent/guardian to finalize booking arrangements. Please be advised that incomplete referrals and/or the referral of children not eligible for the program will result in the return of the referral to the referring dentist.

Contact Information:

NRHA Pediatric Dental Program
Phone: 204-778-1465
Fax: 204-778-1410
Email: [email protected]