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Emergency dentistry

Posted By A non mouse

"Emergency dentistry"

About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) NHS 24 / Scottish Emergency Dental Service

(as a service user),

Reluctantly, I feel I need emergency dental treatment. NHS advice is use 111. But 111 very clearly tells me they will not assist in making an appointment. Oh, I'm homeless and with aspergers by the way. Instructions say I should begin with speaking with my regular dentist, which I don't have. Why is it that the NHS explicitly states 111 is how to reach emergency dental services, yet 111 says it is not and no route to it seems findable?

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Responses

Response from NHS 24 3 days ago
NHS 24

Submitted on 01/07/2025 at 14:11
Published on Care Opinion at 15:29

Dear non mouse,

Thank you for sharing your experience on Care Opinion. I'm truly sorry to hear about the difficulties you encountered while trying to access dental care. It sounds like an incredibly challenging situation, and I understand how frustrating that must have been.

I thought helpful to explain that while routine dental care does typically require registration with a dentist, there are pathways in place for people with dental emergencies who are not currently registered. These are outlined on our NHS Inform website Dental emergencies - NHS Scotland and they should also be clearly explained when you call our 111 service.

I would really appreciate the chance to look further into the advice you received to help clarify where it may have come from and to ensure the right guidance is being provided. Could I kindly ask you to contact our Patient Experience Team to provide some additional details, including your Care Opinion username, this will enable us to do this for you. You can contact me or a member of the team at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk

In the meantime, I would still encourage you to contact 111 in the future and I want to reassure you that we are committed to helping you access the right support and care.

Thank you again for sharing your story and I wish you all the best.

Kind Regards

Lynne

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