Accessing NHS dental care in the North East and North Cumbria

The most up-to-date information on how patients across the North East and North Cumbria region can find and access NHS dental care can be found below.

This information is also available on the ICB's website here: NENC NHS Dentistry.

How to access NHS dental care

There are four ways patients can access NHS dental care:

1. Contact an NHS dentist

NHS dentists provide routine dental care and urgent care appointments during their normal working hours.

Patients should contact their regular dentist if they have one or they can find an NHS dentist at www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist.

If patients have an urgent care issue and cannot get an appointment with an NHS dentist, they can contact the services below. See appendix 1 for the criteria for urgent care appointments.

2. Contact dentists that have extra urgent appointments

Selected dentists across the region have extra urgent appointments. A list of contact details for those practices can be found on the ICB's website at: northeastnorthcumbria.nhs.uk/here-to-help-you/nhs-dentistry.

Patients can ask for an urgent appointment at any of the practices listed.

The number of urgent appointments available at each practice will vary across the days and weeks, so we cannot guarantee an appointment will always be available.

3. Book an appointment at an urgent dental access centre

Urgent dental access centres offer appointments to diagnose and treat urgent dental problems.

Patients can book their own appointment at an urgent dental access centre at northeastnorthcumbria.nhs.uk/here-to-help-you/nhs-dentistry.

More information about urgent dental access centres is available in appendix 2.

4. Contact NHS 111 for urgent care

Patients should contact 111.nhs.uk or call 111 if they cannot find an urgent appointment with any of the NHS dental services above and they have:

• Severe toothache that causes pain that does not stop or cannot be eased by over-the-counter painkillers.
• Dental abscess infections that cause swelling, pain and possibly fever.
• Broken or knocked-out teeth.
• Bleeding in the mouth following a dental procedure or an injury that does not stop by itself but can be controlled. If bleeding cannot be controlled in any way, emergency care may be needed.
• Swelling in the mouth or face that could be a sign of infection.
• Fractured, loose or displaced fillings causing pain.
• Severe bleeding from gums or conditions affecting other soft areas of the
  mouth (such as cheeks or tongue). 

The NHS 111 health advisor will talk to the patient about their needs.

If they do not need help right away, the health advisor will give the patient advice on how to treat the problem themselves until they can get an appointment.

If the patient does need urgent help, NHS 111 may be able to find them an appointment during normal working hours at an urgent dental access centre or at an out-of-hours treatment service.

Most general hospitals do not have an on-call dental service for dental pain so patients should visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111 for emergency dental care.

Patients should only go to A&E or call 999 if they have:

• Serious injuries to the face, mouth, jaw or teeth
• Heavy bleeding from the mouth that will not stop
• Severe swelling of the mouth, lips, throat or neck, and difficulty breathing or opening 1 or both eyes
• Any injury to the head or face that has caused them to lose consciousness, vomit, or have double vision

Further information

Appendix 1: What is urgent dental care?

Patients can access urgent dental care if they have:

• Severe toothache that causes pain that does not stop or cannot be eased by over-the-counter painkillers.
• Dental abscess infections that cause swelling, pain and possibly fever.
• Broken or knocked-out teeth.
• Bleeding in the mouth following a dental procedure or an injury that does not stop by itself but can be controlled. If bleeding cannot be controlled in any way, emergency care may be needed.
• Swelling in the mouth or face that could be a sign of infection.
• Fractured, loose or displaced fillings causing pain.
• Severe bleeding from gums or conditions affecting other soft areas of the mouth (such as cheeks or tongue).

They can also ask for an urgent dental appointment if they are worried about conditions like:

• Mild or moderate pain that eases with pain relief
• Minor dental trauma
• Bleeding after having a tooth taken out
• Loose or displaced crowns, bridges and veneers
• Fractured or loose-fitting dentures and other appliances
• Fractured posts that do not cause pain
• Fractured, loose or displaced fillings that do not cause pain
• Bleeding gums
   

Appendix 2: Urgent Dental Access Centres

What does a UDAC do?

A UDAC provides appointments to diagnose and treat urgent dental issues and conditions listed in appendix 1.

UDACs do not offer routine dental care, like check-ups.

Who can use a UDAC?

Anyone can use a UDAC if they have one or more of the urgent problems in appendix 1 and:

• are not currently getting ongoing treatment from an NHS dentist
• cannot get an urgent appointment at a local high street dentist

Patients can visit any UDAC in the network, not just the one closest to them.

Normal NHS charges and exemptions apply.

How many appointments are available?

The UDAC network will offer almost 109,000 urgent dental appointments in the North East and North Cumbria every year.

A limited number of 30-minute appointments will be available at each centre daily.

Priority will be given to those people with the greatest clinical needs.

How many UDACs are there?

There are 23 UDACs across the North East and North Cumbria.