Everything you need to know about finding, registering with, and getting treatment from an NHS dentist in England.
You can search by postcode on DentistAlert or browse by region. We check every NHS dental practice in England daily and show you which ones are currently accepting new patients. You can also call NHS 111 or check the NHS website.
When a practice is "accepting patients", it means they have capacity to take on new NHS patients. This can change at short notice. A practice might accept adults but not children, or only take urgent cases. DentistAlert tracks five categories: adults, children, urgent care, adults entitled to free dental care, and referral-only patients.
Yes. There are no catchment areas for NHS dentists. You can register with any practice in England, regardless of where you live. Some people travel significant distances to find an accepting practice.
Set up a free alert on DentistAlert and we'll notify you the moment a practice near you starts accepting. You can also call NHS 111, contact your local Integrated Care Board (ICB), or try expanding your search radius.
Call the practice and say you'd like to register as a new NHS patient. They'll take your details and usually book you in for an initial check-up.
Photo ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of address (utility bill or bank statement). If you have an NHS exemption certificate, bring that too.
Your dentist will recommend how often you should have check-ups based on your oral health. For most adults, this is every 6 to 24 months. Children are usually seen every 6 to 12 months.
NHS dental charges are set nationally in three bands. Band 1 (check-up, diagnosis, X-rays): £26.80. Band 2 (fillings, extractions, root canal): £73.50. Band 3 (crowns, bridges, dentures): £319.10. These prices are from April 2024.
You qualify for free treatment if you're under 18 (or under 19 in full-time education), pregnant or a new mother (baby under 12 months), receiving certain benefits (Income Support, income-based JSA, Universal Credit with no earnings), named on an NHS tax credit exemption certificate, or a war pensioner receiving treatment for your accepted disability.
NHS dentists provide treatment at fixed government-set prices. Private dentists set their own fees. Many dentists offer both NHS and private services from the same surgery. NHS treatment covers everything clinically necessary, while private treatment may include cosmetic options not available on the NHS.
We monitor every NHS dental practice in England by checking official NHS data daily. When a practice starts accepting new patients, we detect the change and alert our users. Free users get a weekly email digest. Paid users get alerts straight away. Sign up for free.
We check all 6,400+ NHS dental practices in England daily using official NHS data sources.
Yes, our basic plan is completely free. You get a weekly digest of dentist availability in your area with one profile. Paid plans (from £4.99/month) give you instant alerts so you're first to know. See our pricing.
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Thousands of people across England are struggling to find an NHS dentist. Set up a free alert and we’ll do the searching for you.