People in need of emergency dental care in England are being denied help by the NHS, despite guidance saying it should be available, according to the patient watchdog.
As reported by The Guardian, this means that in some cases, people are resorting to risky self-treatment, including pulling out their own teeth.
People experiencing a dental crisis – such as a broken tooth, abscess, or severe pain – should contact their dentist or NHS 11 for help. However, research shows that people are unable to get an appointment. This means that care that should be quickly accessible instead involves travelling long distances, spending money on private dentistry, or even going abroad for treatment. For some, these options are not available, meaning that people are turning to self-treatment, pulling out their own teeth or taking unprescribed antibiotics.
People with a dental emergency should be able to get an urgent appointment within either 24 hours or 7 days, depending on the symptoms – whether that’s through their normal NHS dentist, or arranged through calling 111. NHS 111 data shows that calls relating to dental issues have risen recently, with call volumes 20% higher between July and September 2025 than they were at the same time last year.
The watchdog has made recommendations, including calling for NHS Business Services Authority to publish monthly progress data relating to the 700,000 urgent appointments target.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said:
“This government inherited a NHS dental system decayed after years of neglect. We are working hard to turn things around, rolling out extra urgent dental appointments and reforming the dental contract to increase capacity and get more NHS dentists on the frontline. There is more to do but this government is determined to fix Britain’s broken dental sector.”
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