Urgent Dental Appointments: What You Need to Know

Getting fast, reliable dental care when you need it shouldn’t be difficult — especially when you’re in pain. To help make this easier for patients, BOB ICB (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West) has now rolled out the Government’s new Urgent Dental Care Scheme, offering both urgent and non-urgent unscheduled dental appointments across the area.

Here’s what this means for people in West Berkshire.

What does ‘unscheduled dental care’ mean?

Urgent unscheduled care is:

For patients who need to be seen within 24 hours, or as soon as possible.

This might include:

• Severe pain

• Swelling

• Trauma

• Worsening symptoms

  
  

Non-urgent unscheduled care

For patients who still need treatment but can safely wait up to 7 days, unless symptoms worsen.

Where can you get this care?

There are now 46 dental practices across BOB taking part in the scheme for 2025–26.

These practices will offer set appointment sessions specifically for people needing unscheduled dental help.

NHS 111 has the full details and will signpost you to the right place.

If you need urgent dental help, contact NHS 111 first.

They will:

• Direct you to a participating practice

• Identify whether you need urgent or non-urgent unscheduled care

• Use national clinical guidelines to ensure consistent decision-making

  
  

A full list of unscheduled dental care practices across BOB is also available.

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Many people tell us that accessing dental care — especially in urgent situations — can be confusing, frustrating, or simply impossible. This scheme aims to improve that by offering more consistent access and clearer routes to urgent care.

But we need to understand how it’s working for you, so tell Healthwatch West Berkshire about your experience.

If you or someone you know has:

• Tried to get an urgent dental appointment

• Been directed by NHS 111

• Been unable to find a dentist

• Been confused by the process

• Had a positive experience worth sharing

We want to hear from you, as your feedback helps us identify gaps, highlight good practice, and push for improvements where needed.

👉 Share your experience with us at Have Your Say | Healthwatch West Berkshire

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