Urgent dental problem? We’ve got you covered

Local residents are being reminded that extra urgent dental appointments are available for people who need them.

People can visit 111.nhs.uk or phone 111 to ask for an urgent or emergency dental appointment if they:

• have a knocked-out tooth or other injury to their teeth
• have severe tooth or mouth pain that’s affecting their sleep or daily activities, and is not helped by painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen
• have tooth or mouth pain that is helped by taking painkillers, but it’s not going away
• have swelling, a lump or patch inside their mouth that’s getting bigger or not going away – it may or may not be painful
• have recently had a tooth removed and they’re bleeding or have severe pain
• have a broken or loose filling, denture, crown, bridge or veneer

People do not need to be registered with an NHS dentist to get an urgent appointment.

Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive from NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “We know how important it is to local people that they can get urgent dental care when they need it, so we’re pleased to be offering these extra appointments.

“We’re also working hard to improve access to non-urgent NHS dental care. We’ve carried out a review of dental services in the East Midlands to find out where there are gaps so we can develop a plan to improve dental care. There is also work happening nationally to improve dental workforce recruitment, retention and training.”

The urgent appointments are part of the 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments being rolled out across the country, announced by the government in February.