Before
Before your appointment
What the appointment is for, what happens and in what order, what it feels like, and the two or three things worth asking before you agree to it.
Whatever the dentist treating you tells you comes first. They are the ones who will be doing it.
Dreading it? If you are frightened of the dentist
- Before a fillingDecay cut out, and the shape of the tooth rebuilt.
- Before a tooth is taken outA tooth removed from its socket, under local anaesthetic.
- Before gum treatmentCleaning the root surfaces below the gum line, usually over several appointments.
- Before root canal treatmentThe infected pulp taken out of the inside of a tooth, so the tooth can be kept.
- Before a crownA tooth reshaped, and a cover made to replace its whole outer surface.
Who to ring
Routes and numbers checked .
England
Ring your own dentist.
Otherwise NHS 111, by phone or at 111.nhs.uk, at any hour. They will arrange urgent treatment if you need it.
A GP cannot help with a dental problem.
Scotland
In working hours, ring your own practice — or your health board’s dental helpline if you are not registered with one.
Out of hours — from 6pm on weekdays, and from 6pm Friday to 8am Monday — 111 reaches NHS 24.
NHS 24 is a separate service from NHS 111 in England, on the same number.
Wales
Ring your own dentist.
Otherwise ring your health board's dental helpline — that is what NHS Wales asks you to do first. In Cardiff and the Vale it is 0300 10 20 247. In the Aneurin Bevan area (Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen) it is 01633 744387, weekdays 9am to 12.15pm and 1.15pm to 4pm, with advice only outside those hours. In Betsi Cadwaladr, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Hywel Dda, Swansea Bay and Powys, ring 111, at any hour.
Which number you ring depends on where you are, not where you are registered.
Northern Ireland
Ring your own practice first, whatever the day — they will tell you what out-of-hours arrangements they have. If you are not registered, ring local practices, and ask about the Dental Access Scheme if you cannot get seen.
At weekends and on bank holidays, the Emergency Dental Clinics triage by telephone on 028 2566 3510, lines open 8am to noon. You will be given an appointment if you need one.
Do not attend a clinic without an appointment. On a weekday evening or overnight there is no dental service at all — listen to your practice's answerphone, and use 999 or an emergency department only for the signs above.