A therapy dog is being used to take the bite out of a trip to the dentist, in what is believed to be an Australian first.

Paediatric dentist Dr Dan Ford has trained his three-year-old labradoodle 'Comet' to act as a therapy dog in his Brisbane practice, easing the stress and anxiety of dental procedures for young patients.

He said it's not just an excuse to take his dog to work.

"Comet is not just hanging around waiting for pats…he has a dedicated role, working with the kids and gaining their confidence," Dr Ford said.

"The kids I see need extra special care and helping those kids can be challenging because of their anxieties, so I realised that having a therapy dog was going to help me to help them.

"The children can arrive at the clinic really anxious or in lot of pain or having developmental issues and one of Comet's gifts is that he has the ability to detect a situation — and if needed he jumps up on their lap and they've got something to pat and stroke to comfort them."

Labradoodle Comet eases the pain of a trip to the dentist for 13-year-old Alex Gorman. ( Supplied: Alice Gorman )

Rigorous training

Dr Ford and Comet have gone through intensive training to allow them work with children.

"I trained Comet myself up until about three years of age, then I took him to a therapy dog training expert, who I thought was just going to polish everything off, but it actually turned into training for me into how to work with the dog, because it is a real team effort," he said.

Dental therapy dogs are used extensively in the United States but Comet is the first dog accredited to work with patients in an Australian dental practice.

Comet is Australia's first dental therapy dog. ( Supplied: Paediatric Dental Group )

There are also strict hygiene standards in place for having a dog in a dental surgery.

"We've had to go through some pretty strict hurdles — for starters he is a non-shedding dog, which is very important in a health care setting, and we've had to implement specific infection control regimes for him," Dr Ford said.

"He's not allowed in certain areas or within a certain distance of equipment and hand cleaning is very important for the children and parents — there are specific protocols in place in addition to the usual infection control."

Life-changing results

Comet has been working in the practice for three months and Dr Ford said the results have been "incredible".

"He just adds this level of confidence with the kids," he said.

"This has been life-changing for me in the things we can achieve in the examination and treatment of children that we just couldn't do three months ago — it's been amazing!"

13-year-old Alex Gorman gets a cuddle from Comet, who works in Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast. ( Supplied: Alice Gorman )

Alex Gorman, 13, recently had three teeth removed and his mum Alice Gorman said Comet made the experience much less stressful.

"We're crazy dog people, so we thought it was pretty fun and I think it just put everyone's nerves at ease," Alice Gorman said.

"For Alex it was just something else for him to focus on rather than the needles and having the teeth removed.

"It was quite a comforting thing and Comet was amazing, he was lying so still — he's obviously a very affectionate dog anyway, he kind of just knew what his role was.

"Anything that's going to make a potentially stressful situation a little bit easier and break down those barriers, I think it's a great idea," she said.

Dr Ford said the results are great not only his patients, but for Comet, too.

"He gives all he has, and at the end of the day, just like a sheep dog in the yards, he is exhausted," he said.

"But there is no mistaking that he loves it."

Comet and Dr Ford also travel to branch practices in Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast.