Terms and Conditions
Scope of service
We have a limited availability of NHS urgent and unscheduled dental appointments at the practice. This service is for patients who require urgent treatment to relieve pain, manage infection or control urgent dental problems.
Eligibility / who we treat
This urgent service is available to patients who meet the NHS definition of urgent dental need (pain, swelling, uncontrolled bleeding, trauma, etc.). We may ask screening questions and decline to offer appointments where the condition is not urgent or is better managed by a patient’s regular dentist. Patients do not become registered with the practice by attending as an urgent patient.
Triage and appointment allocation
All urgent care is subject to telephone triage and clinical prioritisation. Appointments are allocated based on clinical need and availability. Triage may result in self-care advice, prescription, a same-day appointment, or referral elsewhere.
Registration and paperwork
You will be asked to complete NHS paperwork (for example electronic FP17 / NHS treatment forms) at the time of attendance so that we can record treatment provided under NHS rules. Completing these forms does not register you as a regular patient at this practice.
Follow-up and continuity of care
Our urgent service is intended to provide immediate relief and stabilisation. Any ongoing treatment, restoration, or complex care will normally be referred back to your regular dentist or to another NHS provider for continuation. We may supply a short course of definitive care if clinically appropriate, but this does not confer ongoing registration.
NHS charges and payments
NHS banded charges apply to treatments provided under this service unless you are exempt. We will ask for proof of entitlement to free treatment where applicable.
Non-attendance / cancellation
Please cancel as soon as possible. Repeated non-attendance for urgent appointments may mean we refuse to provide further urgent appointments.
Data and record-keeping
We will keep clinical records of any urgent care provided in line with NHS record-keeping and data-protection requirements and may share information with your registered dentist, NHS commissioners, or other NHS services where clinically necessary.
Limitations and exclusions
We do not provide: elective cosmetic procedures, ongoing restorative programmes beyond immediate stabilisation, orthodontic or specialist long-term care as part of this urgent service. We reserve the right to decline treatment that is clearly non-urgent, outside our scope, or better provided by another service.
