Urgent Dental Care

No, we signpost service users to seek their regular dental care via a general dentist. To find a regular dentist please contact NHS England on 0300 311 22 33 or email England.contactus@nhs.net

Yes, unless you are under 18 years old, statutory charges for NHS dental services apply. You may be eligible to access free NHS dental services if you receive certain benefits.

Read more about current charges and help with dental costs.

Pain relief: Read these NHS guidelines:

Adult pain relief recommendations: (follow the advice of a pharmacist)

• Ibuprofen
• Paracetamol

Child pain relief recommendations (follow the advice of a pharmacist)

• Ibuprofen
• Paracetamol

Brush with toothpaste twice daily, it can also be applied to the affected area with a clean finger as required.

• Topical numbing gels

Your pharmacist can recommend suitable products for you.

• Warm saltwater mouth rinses

Rinsing after meals will help keep your mouth clean and help prevent infection.

• Cold compress such as frozen peas wrapped in a clean towel

This may help ease pain and reduce swelling. However if you are concerned about swelling and fever, telephone your dentist for advice. DO NOT apply heat to a facial swelling, as this can make it worse.

• Try avoiding sweet, very hot and cold foods as these can worsen sensitivity

Try and eat on the other side of your mouth.

• Keep your head elevated at night with an extra pillow

This can relieve pressure within a tooth, reducing pain.

Bleeding gums can be caused by irregular or ineffective tooth brushing. It is important to:

• brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste; you may need to use a softer toothbrush.
• use interdental brushes if you can and floss to dislodge trapped food or plaque.
• rinse or swab the affected area with an antiseptic mouthwash or warm salt water.

Sometimes the gum around a wisdom tooth can become swollen and inflamed, following the above advice may help.

If this fails to improve within 7 to 10 days, contact your dentist or 111.

• Topical numbing gels or rinses

Your pharmacist can recommend suitable products for you.

• Warm saltwater mouth rinses or an antiseptic mouthwash

This will help prevent infection.

• Avoid salty, spicy or hot foods.
• Any mouth ulcer that does not heal within 2 weeks can be a sign of an underlying health condition, please contact a dentist for advice.

• Make sure the area is kept as clean as possible.
• Use a temporary dressing or filling material. These can be purchased at pharmacies, larger supermarkets or online.

• If there has been loss of consciousness or there are significant facial injuries, emergency care is required via A and E.
• Try and stem bleeding by applying pressure by using a clean handkerchief or gauze.
• Clean the affected area by bathing or gently rinsing.
• Are there any broken teeth or teeth missing? If so, try and locate them.
• Use appropriate pain relief.
• Phone the Trauma Helpline 6am to 7pm 7 days a week on 0333 240 1311 (East of England only).

If an adult or permanent tooth has been knocked out completely

• You must only handle the crown (part of the tooth that you would see in your mouth) of the tooth.
• If it is dirty gently rinse with cold water, for a few seconds – do not scrub.
• Store it in milk or saliva (by holding it between the teeth and the cheek.)
• Contact a dentist immediately as time is critical. You can phone the Trauma Helpline 6am-7pm 7 days a week 0333 240 1311

• Leave your denture out as much as possible, if it is very loose or uncomfortable.
• Denture fixative may help.
• Arrange an appointment with the dentist to review your denture.
• There may be some local denture laboratories able to help, however this may incur a charge.

• Contact your orthodontist.
• The British Orthodontic Society website provides some patient advice on managing other orthodontic problems.

• If you need any advice regarding teething for you baby or toddler, NHS tips can be found here.
• Some children can experience discomfort when their adult or permanent molars come through, behind their baby teeth (from about 6 years of age). Pain came be managed by pain relief and good tooth-brushing in the area.

• Facial swelling that is significant, worsening or accompanied by a fever (this may cause trouble swallowing, breathing or cause your eye to close.)
• If you have suffered trauma and are bleeding from broken or missing teeth.
• Severe dental pain that cannot be controlled following self-help advice.
• If you have had a recent extraction and you are unable to control the bleeding yourself, manage post-operative pain or suspect infection.

All of these dental emergencies will require urgent professional attention, and you should either contact:

• our dental service on 0300 555 6667 if we are your usual dentist
• your own dental practice
• 111, if you do not have a regular dentist and need further advice

If, within two months of completing a course of treatment, you need more treatment from the same charge band or a lower one – such as another filling – you don’t have to pay anything extra.
However, after two months of completing a course of treatment, you will have to pay the NHS charge Band for any dental treatment received.

Read more about current charges and help with dental costs.

Yes, a dentist needs to make sure that the toothache is not being caused by something else other than infection. If the cause of pain is an abscess then sometimes antibiotics are not the only treatment required. It is better sometimes to remove the tooth, to remove the source of the infection or drain the infection through the gum.

Appointments are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis by telephone. It is recommended that you call when the phone lines open, as there is only a set amount of appointments available and they are normally allocated extremely quickly. Please see telephone numbers above.

It is not recommend as medical doctors are not trained to diagnose or treat dental problems.

For advice outside of opening hours and at weekends, please contact NHS 111 and they will be able to help you.

The nature of the service is to treat the most severe problem and then advise on further treatment required.

We will give you the time to explain your anxieties, and we will explain what we are doing in a way to help you understand. All of the team are experienced in treating anxious patients.

You may be refused treatment due to the risk of spreading the viral infection to eyes.

It is safe to visit the dentist when pregnant, however please ensure you advise us of this and any changes to your medical history before your appointment.