London: People in England needing urgent dental care are being denied access to NHS services despite guidance stating that emergency treatment should be available, with some patients resorting to dangerous self-treatment such as pulling out their own teeth, according to Healthwatch England.
Patients suffering sudden dental emergencies, including broken teeth, abscesses, or severe tooth pain, are supposed to receive urgent care through their NHS dentist or by calling NHS 111. However, research by the patient watchdog found that many people in acute pain are unable to secure appointments.
In some cases, individuals have been forced to travel more than 100 miles, spend hundreds of pounds on private treatment, or even travel abroad to receive care. Healthwatch England noted that some patients had turned to self-treatment, including extracting their own teeth or taking unprescribed antibiotics, due to the lack of accessible NHS services.
In a blog post, Healthwatch England stated that people across the country are struggling to register with NHS dentists for routine care. Even those already registered often face waits of several months for appointments. The watchdog said that these ongoing access problems mean dental issues are not prevented or treated early, leaving urgent care as the only option for many patients.
The government has committed to providing 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments each year through to 2028–29. In dental emergencies, patients should be offered an urgent appointment within 24 hours or within seven days, depending on symptoms.
This care may be delivered by a person’s regular NHS dentist or through urgent appointments arranged by calling NHS 111, which can direct patients to practices handling emergency cases.
NHS 111 data shows that calls related to dental problems in England have increased in recent months. Between July and September 2025, call volumes were around 20 percent higher than during the same period the previous year.
In the north-east of England, local Healthwatch teams carried out ‘mystery shopping’ calls to urgent dental services, with volunteers making up to 15 calls without finding any available urgent care appointments.
People reported lengthy and exhausting attempts to access urgent treatment. Some spent hours on hold with NHS 111, while others were referred to urgent services only to be told that no appointments were available.
Healthwatch England also found that when patients did manage to receive urgent dental care, the relief was often temporary. The watchdog warned that when urgent dental services shift from being a safety net for occasional crises to the default route for care, preventive treatment is neglected and patients suffer as a result.
Patients described experiencing extreme pain, sleepless nights, and worsening dental health. Many said they felt forced to pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds for private treatment, borrow money from family and friends, or use pensions or benefits to cover the costs.
Practices offering urgent dental appointments were often located far from patients’ homes, with some people reporting round trips of up to 110 miles, journeys lasting two to five hours, and even travel abroad to obtain treatment. Others noted that they resorted to self-treatment or unprescribed antibiotics, raising serious health risks.
The watchdog made several recommendations, including calling on the NHS Business Services Authority to publish monthly progress data on the target of delivering 700,000 additional urgent appointments.
As part of wider dental contract reform, Healthwatch England highlighted that the government should introduce a legal right for people to register with an NHS dentist to improve access, strengthen prevention, improve patient pathways and support long-term planning.
Responding to the findings, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government had inherited an NHS dental system that had deteriorated after years of neglect.
The spokesperson noted that steps are being taken to roll out additional urgent dental appointments and reform the dental contract to increase capacity and put more NHS dentists on the frontline. While acknowledging that more work remains, the spokesperson added that the government is determined to fix Britain’s broken dental care sector.
MOST READ | FIFA hit by fan anger over expensive 2026 World Cup tickets
