DENTIST’S CHEER
Expert and his team focus efforts on helping newborn babies breastfeed as well as maintaining dental health of others
EVEN before babies have reached teething stage, an NHS Fife dentist is playing an important role in their lives – by helping them breastfeed.
Barry Corkey, 53, sees newborns struggling to breastfeed because they are “tongue-tied” - a condition where the strip of skin attaching the tongue to the floor of the mouth is shorter than normal causing restriction of movement.
Barry said: “Cutting that tissue under the tongue allows them to breastfeed better. I try to see babies when they are just a few days old to give them the best chance to be able to start breastfeeding.”
This procedure is important as it enables mums to provide optimum nutrition for their newborns through breastfeeding, allowing mother and child to bond. Not many dentists carry it out. It’s usually surgeons or paediatricians but Barry has been teaching several other dentists in Fife how to carry out the same procedure.
Barry – who has been working with special needs patients for more than 30 years – has in-depth expertise in seeing children with additional needs, who usually cannot be treated by a local dentist.
His work has won him the admiration of colleagues who have nominated him as Dentist of the Year at this year’s Scottish Health Awards. The event, run by the Daily Record, in partnership with NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government, recognises the efforts of our health and care heroes across 17 categories.
Barry’s team see a lot of children with mental health problems such as anxiety or depression.
He said: “Sometimes I see children at home or school because it is really difficult for them to come into a dentist’s building.
“It builds confidence in getting them to come to us.”
Barry’s team also have an outstanding record for short general anaesthetic waiting times for children who need teeth removed.
Barry said: “Children are still experiencing a lot of decay but there have been improvements thanks to Scottish Government initiatives which are making a huge difference but there are still a lot of young children who are getting a lot of teeth removed and we need to get it right with the help of their parents.” Barry tries to organise his services differently in order to give priority to young children, particularly those with special needs so they don’t have to wait too long if they need treatment.
He said: “We need to prevent tooth decay in the future. It is particularly important to keep in touch with vulnerable children and their families. Dental disease can have a huge impact on children in terms of pain, infection, their ability to eat a good diet, time away from school and how they are perceived by others.”
Barry also uses another skillset to prevent the use of general anaesthetics and help calm anxious children. He said: “I have an interest in the area of neurolinguistics and hypnotherapy. I use a range of techniques where possible to help with sedation, to help patients become less anxious without giving injections. Managing anxiety in children is a particular interest.”
Barry’s team have had the shortest list for anaesthetics for years. He said: “We strive to achieve this and try hard to not have
children going Nominate
under general now at www.
anaesthetic at scottish
all.” health
Barry’s keen awards.com
to emphasise all the good work done in Fife is a “team effort”. He said: “I lead a wonderful team committed to caring for the most vulnerable children.” ●If you know someone who has made a difference to your health or that of your family, there is still time.
Nominations close on August 31.