Dental guides

Practical guides for finding dental care

Short guides for NHS availability, urgent appointments, CQC inspection reports, NHS charges and local access data.

NHS dentists accepting new patients

Start with location, then check whether the practice is accepting adults, children, urgent cases or free-care patients.

If you have severe pain, swelling, bleeding or dental trauma, search locally and contact NHS 111 if you cannot get help from a dentist.

From 1 April 2026, NHS dental charges in England are Band 1 £27.90, Band 2 £76.60, Band 3 £332.10 and urgent treatment £27.90.

CQC reports and NHS activity data answer different questions. Use both when comparing a dental practice.

CQC does not rate every type of service. Dental practices can be registered and inspected while still showing as not rated.

A UDA is a unit used to measure NHS dental activity. It helps explain why some practices pause new NHS patients.

Dental access is uneven. The density map compares NHS-linked dentist locations with local population data where available.

Many practices mix NHS and private care. The important question is whether they are currently accepting the type of patient you need.