Once you find a dental practice, you may have to fill in a registration form at your first visit, which is purely to add you to their patient database. However, that does not mean you have guaranteed access to an NHS dental appointment in the future
Problems finding an NHS dentist
If after contacting several dental practices you still can’t find a dentist accepting NHS patients, you should call NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 2233.
NHS England commissions dental services in England and is required to meet the needs of their local population for both urgent and routine dental care.
Your local Healthwatch also may be able to give you information about services in your area.
If NHS England has been unable to help you find a dentist and you want to raise your concerns about this, contact them on:
- email: england.contactus@nhs.net
- phone: 0300 311 2233
- visit the NHS England website
If you’re still not satisfied with NHS England’s response, you can take your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Last updated: 1 February, 2019