Inside the urgent dental service: our lead dentist explains all

Lead dentist, Dr Scott Aaron is Clinical Director of Herts Urgent Dental Care, the Hertfordshire out-of-hours dental service which has bases in Stevenage and Rickmansworth. This is one part of the urgent dental care service for local patients.

Scott describes his work as an urgent care dentist, with tips about using the service and how to get the most from your appointment.

He says: “The NHS urgent dental care is an excellent service which is there to provide rapid help with a tooth or gum problem for people who can’t see a standard dentist quickly.

“Patients come to us through NHS 111 and we have a dentist, dental nurse, and a whole team ready and waiting to see each patient. We have a small amount of information about them before we start and have half an hour per appointment. In that time, we need to get to know the person, work out what the problem is and deal with it – but we always give people the best treatment we can in those 30 minutes.

“Each diagnosis is different, each treatment is different, and each patient is different. Most people come to us because they’re in pain – and being able to ease people’s discomfort by the time they walk out of the door is really gratifying.”

“If we can solve an issue in one appointment, we will. Some people will need a filling replaced; others might need to have a tooth out. If it’s a straightforward extraction, we can remove the tooth during the appointment.

“Ultimately, we aim to give the patient the right treatment to improve their situation. During that initial appointment we might identify another dental issue that needs further attention. If needed, we can book patients into a follow-up appointment for necessary treatment – particularly if they don’t have a regular dentist. That way we can help to get a person’s dental health back on track, so hopefully they don’t end up needing another urgent appointment.”

“If someone needs more complex work, such as root canal treatment, we might start it in the urgent care clinic and then hand over to their regular dentist to complete the treatment.”

How to access urgent dental care

Anyone in Hertfordshire and west Essex can access the NHS urgent dental care service by contacting NHS111 either online at 111.nhs.uk or by phone. You’ll need to answer a series of questions about your problem and will receive a call back from a dental nurse, who will book you a local appointment, if needed.

The Hertfordshire out-of-hours service sees patients 6-8pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends and bank holidays. There are also three dental practices in Hemel Hempstead, Watford, and Waltham Abbey that provide urgent appointments through NHS111 during the normal opening hours for each practice. The Waltham Abbey practice also provides urgent Saturday appointments.

Scott stresses the importance of calling NHS111 rather than trying other options – such as calling round local dentists, for example.

That call is your gateway to urgent treatment. If NHS111 thinks you need an urgent appointment, they will try and get you in that day or the next day. You’ll be offered an appointment nearest to where you live

Scott urges people to attend their appointment – even if they think the issue has improved. “Please come to your appointment. Even if pain seems to have gone away, there is likely to be an underlying problem that needs dealing with.”

“We appreciate that however nice the dentist is, nobody looks forward to seeing them and some people get really anxious about coming to us. But dental treatment is not as bad as you think, and it is better to deal with a problem straightaway and not wait until it gets worse.

“We have lots of experience of dental anxiety and make big efforts to put people at ease. Most people we see in the urgent care service are extremely happy with the service.”

Urgent NHS dental care is free if you’re under 18, under 19 and in full time education, pregnant or on certain benefits. If you don’t qualify for free treatment you will need to pay an urgent care fee for your appointment.