NHS England has issued guidance on what to do if you need urgent dental work done during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Since the Prime Minister announced social distancing measures to slow down the spread of COVID-19, a set of restrictions on daily activity to contain the spread of the virus were introduced. All non-urgent dental activity has stopped in line with the changes to people’s everyday lives that the Prime Minister has signalled.
In light of the public health control measures and in recognition of the difficulties that dental practices face, including continuing concerns about staff safety, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) is making a number of immediate changes to the delivery and operation of our dental services in the East of England region.
Across every NHS region local Urgent Dental Care (UDC) systems are being created to provide care for people with urgent and emergency dental problems. The hubs are being established to meet the distinct needs of people with urgent dental care needs:
1. Those who are possible or confirmed COVID-19 patients – including patients with symptoms, or those living in their household.
2. Those who are ‘shielded’, as being at most-significant risk from COVID-19.
3. Those who are vulnerable/at increased risk from COVID-19.
4. Any other people who do not fit one of the above categories.
Hubs are being developed to allow appropriate separation and treatment of patients in these categories. Each patient will be assessed and triaged depending on a number of factors, and their care managed accordingly (either by remote prescribing/advice or where required, by referral to one of the physical urgent dental centres). Patients will only be seen after a referral via the triage system. Drop-ins are not permitted.
Thirty-two (32) locations have been chosen to cover the East of England as best as possible, within limitations posed by staffing and equipment. This means that some patients will need to travel. With the initial service now operational, the service will flex to suit requirements as they arise and additional centres may be added.
Triage will be used to decide which category people fall into, depending on their symptoms and level of pain. The triage categories are:
1 Requires immediate treatment on the day.
2 Treatment within 24 hours.
3 Non-urgent.
Those involved in triage have a detailed operating procedure to help them allocate different dental conditions to the correct category.
Patients with an urgent or emergency dental condition must not attend any clinics as they need to be triaged first. This system also helps manage the flow to centres and avoid queues (in line with social- distancing measures). People who have a dental practice and use it regularly should contact their dentist by phone for advice and/or referral to the triage service. All NHS dental surgeries should be accessible by phone, even though their doors are shut. For those who cannot contact their dentist or do not have one, and require urgent care, patients are advised to use the NHS 111 online service available here: https://111.nhs.uk/.