Thousands more urgent dental appointments available for those in need
People who need urgent dental care in Derbyshire are being urged to take up extra appointments that are now available, if they need them.
NHS Derby and Derbyshire has arranged for dentists in the county to provide urgent care to deal with issues such as severe toothache, bleeding, swelling or broken teeth.
People affected are asked to visit the NHS 111 website or to call NHS 111 if they need an urgent appointment.
A trained advisor will offer advice on your condition and arrange an urgent dental appointment if appropriate.
In Derbyshire patients are offered up to two follow-up appointments, if needed, after the urgent appointment, to carry out follow-up work and to stabilise whatever caused the problem.
Rami says: “If you have severe dental problems – like toothache, swelling or infection, lost or broken fillings, or bleeding conditions in your mouth – you can get an urgent dental appointment from the NHS.
“If you have a regular dentist then contact them first, but if you don’t, or you’re unable to get an appointment with them then contact NHS 111 and you will be referred to a local dental practice for an appointment.”
Watch Rami’s talk about all urgent dental conditions (above) on NHS England’s YouTube channel, or see a separate message for each condition on NHS England’s YouTube channel
Rami Khatib, chair of Derbyshire Local Dental Committee and a dentist in Chesterfield, has informed patients across the Midlands of the appointments through a series of videos.
Rami says: “If you have severe dental problems – like toothache, swelling or infection, lost or broken fillings, or bleeding conditions in your mouth – you can get an urgent dental appointment from the NHS.
“If you have a regular dentist then contact them first, but if you don’t, or you’re unable to get an appointment with them then contact NHS 111 and you will be referred to a local dental practice for an appointment.”
The NHS in Derby and Derbyshire has commissioned 16,298 urgent appointments during this financial year up to April 2026. This is the county’s share of 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments being rolled out across the country.
Clive Newman, director of primary care at NHS Derby and Derbyshire, said: “We know that being able to see a local dentist for urgent care is a key priority for local people.
“We also know that many people don’t have a regular dentist and struggle to get treatment if they have conditions such as severe toothache.
“We are pleased that local dentists in Derbyshire are making urgent appointments available, which are accessed through NHS 111.
“We have arranged locally for that service to be followed up by two additional appointments.
“This will allow the dentist to support the patient in stabilising their condition and, hopefully, prevent future problems.
“At the same time we are working hard to improve access to dentistry for regular checkups and to support people to have a healthy mouth and teeth.”
The appointments are for urgent conditions, including if:
- you have a knocked-out tooth or other injury to your teeth
- you have severe tooth or mouth pain that’s affecting your sleep or daily activities, and is not helped by painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen
- you have tooth or mouth pain that is helped by taking painkillers, but it’s not going away
- you have swelling, a lump or patch inside your mouth that’s getting bigger or not going away – it may or may not be painful
- you’ve recently had a tooth removed and you’re bleeding or have severe pain
- you have a broken or loose filling, denture, crown, bridge or veneer
How to find an emergency or urgent NHS dentist appointment – NHS
People can get an urgent appointment by visiting NHS111 or phoning 111.
Local information is available on the Joined Up Care Derbyshire website.