What began as a simple need for two dental fillings has turned into a long and worrying ordeal for 10-year-old Frankie Henderson, who lives in Rusagonis, just outside Fredericton. Nearly two years later, her condition has significantly worsened. Frankie now requires at least seven fillings and two to three tooth extractions, and one of her cavities has progressed to the nerve.
“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.”
Erica explained that Frankie’s autism and anxiety disorder make it difficult for her to undergo treatment in a regular dental clinic.
According to CBC reports, she was referred to Dr. Tom Raddall, a Moncton-based specialist and the only board-certified pediatric dental expert in New Brunswick.
Raddall typically treats children with complex medical needs, very young patients, or those considered high-risk. In many cases, these procedures must be carried out in a hospital setting using general anesthesia or intubation. Frankie has now been placed on a surgical waitlist at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, where wait times are comparatively shorter.
Hundreds of children still waiting
Frankie’s case is far from unique. Raddall says more than 300 of his patients across New Brunswick are currently waiting for dental surgery.
“Typically, that’s resulting in my patients waiting one to two years,” he said. “I treated some patients [in March] in the operating room here in Moncton who were waiting almost three years for treatment.”
Data from a provincial website tracking surgical wait times shows that at the Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, only about half of pediatric dental surgeries for fillings and extractions are completed within 300 days, reported by CBC.
Other regions are facing similar delays. At Edmundston Regional Hospital, half of such procedures are completed within 267 days, while at Saint John Regional Hospital, the figure stands at 243 days.CBC also reports that patients with more complex conditions continue to wait for procedures with Raddall, whether in Moncton or elsewhere. He noted that children from lower-income families are often the ones waiting the longest.
Many families are unable to travel when earlier surgical slots open up in other locations, often due to lack of transportation or the inability to take time off work.
Raddall added that without timely surgery, some children live with daily pain, struggle to eat, drink, or sleep properly, and find it hard to concentrate in school.
“Sometimes they have repeated infections inside their mouth or sometimes they can spread … and may require repeated antibiotic usage while they’re waiting for treatment.”
Limited access to operating rooms
Raddall believes the primary reason behind the long delays is limited access to operating room time. He currently receives anywhere from zero to five days per month in the operating room but says he would need at least two days each week to keep up with demand. He pointed out that in provinces like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, pediatric dentists typically get access to operating rooms several times a week. He suspects his limited access may be due to the fact that New Brunswick does not formally recognize his specialty.
While other dental professionals in the province can handle lower-risk pediatric cases, many refer complex cases to Raddall, further increasing his already long waitlist. Paul Blanchard, executive director of the New Brunswick Dental Society, agreed that pediatric dentistry is not formally recognized in the province. He believes this may be due to the absence of a dedicated children’s hospital and a historical lack of board-certified pediatric dentists in the region.
Focus on prevention
Blanchard emphasized that beyond specialist recognition, the province needs to invest more in preventive dental care. “It’s not just about recognizing the pediatric dentist, but it’s about bringing in effective policy that would deal with more prevention solutions.”
He suggested several measures, including fluoridating municipal water, improving data collection on oral health, appointing a chief dental officer, and introducing school-based fluoride varnish programs.
For example, Nova Scotia runs a program where dental hygienists visit schools twice a year to apply fluoride varnish to students up to Grade 6, helping prevent cavities early on.
In response, a spokesperson for New Brunswick’s Health Department said via email that operating room time is managed by individual hospitals, taking into account patient needs and surgical waitlists.
The department also noted that it is working with regional health authorities to reduce wait times by making better use of existing operating rooms.
Horizon Health Network said in a statement that around 800 pediatric dental surgeries were carried out during the 2024–25 period across multiple sites by qualified dental professionals, including general dentists.
“Regional OR operations managers work closely with surgeons and each division to determine how OR time is allocated within their specialty,” the statement said. Vitalité Health Network did not respond to requests for comment.
