Dental Health - Public

Emergency Dental Services

The NHS Direct Wales website provides information on dental services in Wales. It includes links to advice on accessing dental services and provides contact details for dental services and helplines, including emergency out of hours contacts, for the various regions within Wales.

The following are classed as emergencies:

  • Dental bleeding that will not stop.
  • Acute Spreading infection (Swelling of the lip, tongue or cheek).
  • Damage to teeth or jaws as a result of accident.

Toothache no matter how bad, is not classed as a dental emergency. If you would like advice on pain relief you should contact your dentist. You can also find out who to contact for information from the Useful Numbers and Links section on the NHS Direct Wales page above. You will find more information about toothache below:

Mouth ulcers are another  very common condition, and most people will have at least one in their lifetime. You can find information on the causes, treatment and prevention of mouth ulcers below:

 

Finding a Dentist

You can find information below on dental practices in Wales, including contact details, opening times, services offered and whether they are accepting new patients.

NHS Dental Treatment Charges

Since 1st April 2006 NHS dental treatment costs have been organised under a simplified system which groups treatments under one of three price bands.

If you fall into any of these categories you will not need to pay for your NHS dental treatment:

  • You are under 18, or are a full-time student under 19.
  • You are expecting a baby when treatment starts, or you have had a baby in the last 12 months.
  • You or your partner are receiving Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit.
  • You are named on a Tax Credit NHS Exemption Certificate
  • You are named on an NHS HC2 certificate for full help with health costs.

Dental examinations are free in Wales if:

  • You are under 25 years of age or
  • You are aged 60 years of age or over. 

You can find further information on health costs in the booklet below:


Patient Safety

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) is the independent inspectorate and regulator of all health care in Wales. HIW’s core role is to review and inspect NHS and independent healthcare organisations in Wales to provide independent assurance for patients, the public, the Welsh Assembly Government and healthcare providers, that services are safe and good quality. Services are reviewed against a range of published Standards.
Since 1st April 2006 new dental contracts between dentists and Health Boards resulted in changes to the dental system in Wales. Health Boards are responsible within their area for planning, funding and delivering dental services. This also means providing out of hours treatment when the surgery is closed. .

If you wish to make a complaint about the care or service provided by an NHS dentist or dental practice, you should initially contact the practice, preferably in writing, to raise the issue. If you do not want to deal with the practice directly you can contact the complaints manager at your Health Board instead.

Each Health Board and dentist operates a complaints procedure. You can find more information in the leaflet below:

The Dental Complaints Service is an independent dental complaints service funded by the General Dental Council. It assists private dental patients and dental professionals to resolve complaints about private dental services.

Your local Community Health Council can also offer advice when making a complaint.