Get urgent dental care

What should I do if I have an urgent dental problem?

You should make an urgent dental appointment if you have:

• Toothache that is so bad it causes pain that does not stop or ease with over-the-counter pain relief.
• Swelling in the mouth or face, like abscesses or infections, that causes pain or fever.
• Broken or knocked-out teeth.
• Bleeding in the mouth after a dental procedure or injury that does not stop by itself. If bleeding cannot be controlled, you might need emergency care.
• Loose or broken fillings that cause pain.
• Heavy bleeding from gums.
• Problems with the soft areas of the mouth, like cheeks or tongue.

Urgent appointments are also available if you are worried about:
• Pain that does not go away but eases with over-the-counter pain relief.
• Minor trauma like a chipped tooth.
• Loose, broken or displaced crowns, bridges, veneers, posts, and fillings that do not cause pain.
• Loose or broken dentures.
• Bleeding gums.

There are 4 ways to get urgent NHS dental care.

1. Contact an NHS dentist for urgent care

The first place to try is an NHS dentist.

You should contact your regular dentist if you have one or you can look for an NHS dentist at nhs.uk. The dentist will tell you how they can help or how soon you can get an urgent care appointment.

If you cannot get an appointment with a dentist, you can contact the services below for urgent care.

2. Ask for an appointment with a student or junior dentist at Newcastle Dental Hospital

Undergraduate dental students and qualified junior dentists provide urgent dental care appointments at Newcastle Dental Hospital.

Student and junior dentists are supervised by qualified and experienced dentists.

Appointments with student and junior dentists are free for everyone.

Appointments can take longer than usual as they are part of the student or junior dentist's practical training.

Newcastle Dental Hospital does not provide routine dental care, like check-ups, cosmetic treatments, or replacement teeth or dentures.

If you need more treatment after your urgent appointment, you will be asked to visit an NHS dentist. You can look for one at nhs.uk.

Request an appointment for an adult

To request an urgent dental appointment for an adult, send an email to nuth.dentaldec@nhs.net.

Include this information about the patient in your email:

Name
Date of birth
Address
Telephone number
NHS number (if you know it)

Here are some important things to know about making an appointment:

Emails are checked between 8:30am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday. You can send an email outside of these hours, but it will only be read during opening hours.
Someone from Newcastle Dental Hospital will telephone you if an appointment is available. The call will show as a private number on your phone.
Newcastle Dental Hospital will only call you back once. Please make sure you have access to your phone after you email the hospital.
If you do not get a telephone call, it means an appointment has not been made for you at Newcastle Dental Hospital. You can email the next day to request an appointment again.

Request an appointment for a child

Urgent dental appointments are available for children aged 0-15 years old who have:

an injury to the mouth or teeth
swelling in the face
dental pain that cannot be controlled with over-the-counter pain relief

To request an urgent dental appointment for a child, send an email to nuth.paeddenttriage@nhs.net.

Include this information about the child in your email:

Name
Date of birth
Address
Telephone number
NHS number (if you know it)
A summary of the dental problem
A photograph if your child has an injury to their mouth or teeth, or swelling in the face

Here are some important things to know about making an appointment:

Emails are checked between 9:00am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday. You can send an email outside of these hours, but it will only be read during opening hours.
A qualified junior dentist will read your email. They will call you within 24 hours to tell you if your child needs an urgent appointment.
Appointments are given to those most in need first.

3. Book an appointment at an urgent dental access centre

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

You can use an urgent dental access centre if:

you are not currently getting ongoing treatment from an NHS dentist
you cannot get an urgent appointment at an NHS dentist

Children and adults can use urgent dental access centres.

Normal NHS charges and exemptions apply.

Urgent dental access centres do not provide routine care, like check-ups.

You can book your own appointment at one of the urgent dental access centres below.

Here are some important things to know about making an appointment at an urgent dental access centre:

Appointments can be booked two days in advance.
New appointments are added every morning. If there are no appointments available when you try to book, please check again the following day.
You can book an appointment at any centre, not just the one closest to you.

Urgent dental access centres provide a limited number of urgent appointments Monday to Friday. Only book if you need urgent care and will attend your appointment.

If you regularly book appointments that you do not attend, urgent dental access centres have the right to cancel your appointment.

County Durham

Centre	Address	Appointments
Durham City Urgent Dental Access Centre	Framwellgate Dental Practice, 20-21 Front Street, Framwellgate Moor, DH1 5EJ	Book an appointment
Barnard Castle Urgent Dental Access Centre	The Castle Dental Practice, 39 Galgate, Barnard Castle, DL12 8EJ	Book an appointment
Peterlee Urgent Dental Access Centre	Castle Dene Dental Surgery, 9-11 Burnhope Way, Peterlee, SR8 1BT	Book an appointment

North Cumbria

Centre	Address	Appointments
Carlisle Urgent Dental Access Centre	Cumbria Health, 4 Wavell Drive, Carlisle, CA1 2SE	Please call Dental Direct on 01228 603900 to book an appointment
Whitehaven Urgent Dental Access Centre	SJ Smith, 3 Scotch Street, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 7BL	Please call Dental Direct on 01228 603900 to book an appointment

Northumberland

Centre	Address	Appointments
Alnwick Urgent Dental Access Centre	Genix Healthcare, Unit 10, Cawledge Business Park, 10 Linnet Ct, Alnwick, NE66 2GD	Book an appointment
Blyth Urgent Dental Access Centre	My Dentist South, 323 Cowpen Road, Blyth, NE24 5EZ	Book an appointment
Hexham Urgent Dental Access Centre	Alpin Dental, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 2EQ	Book an appointment

Tyne and Wear

Centre	Address	Appointments
Gateshead Urgent Dental Access Centre	ParkView Family Dental, 1 Park View, Sunderland Road, Felling, Gateshead, NE10 9ND	Book an appointment
Jarrow Urgent Dental Access Centre	Grange Road West Dental Practice, 6 Grange Road West, Jarrow, NE32 3JA	Book an appointment
Newcastle East Urgent Dental Access Centre	My Dentist East - Walker, 572 Welbeck Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 3AB	Book an appointment
Newcastle Outer West Urgent Dental Access Centre	The Dental Care Clinic, Stamfordham Road, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE5 2LH	Book an appointment
North Shields Urgent Dental Access Centre	North Shields Dental Practice, 24 Northumberland Square, North Shields, NE30 1PW	Book an appointment
South Shields Urgent Dental Access Centre	1a Dentist, 74 Fowler Street, South Shields, NE33 1PD	Book an appointment
Sunderland Central Urgent Dental Access Centre	Silver & Charlton, 50 John Street, Sunderland, SR1 1QH	Book an appointment
Sunderland North Urgent Dental Access Centre	Silver & Charlton, 1 Atkinson Road, Sunderland, SR6 9AR	Book an appointment

Tees Valley

Centre	Address	Appointments
Darlington Urgent Dental Access Centre	Burgess & Hyder, Firthmoor Community Centre 56 Burnside Road, Darlington, DL1 4SU	Book an appointment
Eston Urgent Dental Access Centres	Eston Dental Practice, 15 Jubilee Road, Eston, Middlesbrough, TS6 9EP	Book an appointment
Hartlepool Urgent Dental Access Centre	Bentley Mathieson Dentalcare, Stamford House, 22 Victoria Road, Hartlepool, TS26 8DD	Book an appointment
Middlesbrough East Urgent Dental Access Centre	My Dentist Middlesborough, Unit HB, Cleveland Retail Park, Skippers Lane Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough, TS6 6UX	Book an appointment
Middlesbrough West Urgent Dental Access Centre	Roman Road Dental, 61 Roman Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, TS5 5PH	Book an appointment
Normanby Urgent Dental Access Centres	Normanby Dental Practice,13-17 High Street, Normanby, TS6 0NQ	Book an appointment
Stockton South Urgent Dental Access Centre	Yarm Lane Dental Practice, 59 Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DX	Book an appointment

4. Contact NHS 111 for urgent care

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

Toothache that is so bad it causes pain that does not stop or ease with over-the-counter pain relief.
Swelling in the mouth or face, like abscesses or infections, that causes pain or fever.
Broken or knocked-out teeth.
Bleeding in the mouth after a dental procedure or injury that does not stop by itself. If bleeding cannot be controlled, you might need emergency care.
Loose or broken fillings that cause pain.
Heavy bleeding from gums.
Problems with the soft areas of the mouth, like cheeks or tongue.

The NHS 111 health advisor will talk to you about your needs.

If you do not need help right away, we may give you advice on how to treat the problem yourself until you can get an appointment.

If you do need urgent help, we may:

ask you to book an appointment at an urgent dental access centre during working hours
be able to find you an appointment at an out-of-hours treatment service

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

You should only go to A&E or call 999 if you have:

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

Pain relief

Get advice on how to treat toothache at home while you wait for an urgent dental appointment.