Patients in the East of England can now access urgent dental care at 32 locations
Dental patients in the East who need immediate assistance during the Coronavirus lockdown can now access care at 32 locations across the region.
Urgent dental centres have been set up across the country, with a total of 32 hubs in the East of England. Locations have been selected to ensure that patients don’t have to travel too far to see an emergency dentist, and the hubs are now operating across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. There are also 36 centres in the South of England, covering Portsmouth, Basingstoke, Canterbury, Southampton, Reading and Guildford.
The dental centres are a temporary measure, but they are expected to be up and running until it is safe to open high street practices, which could be weeks, even months away. These hubs are designed solely for patients who have an appointment. Routine care will not be available at the urgent dental centres.
Patients who have dental problems while practices are closed can contact their local dentist for advice, as most are offering telephone consultations and providing information via video call. Dentists are also providing a triage service for the emergency dental centres, and if patients do require an appointment, they will be referred by their regular dentist. Patients who are not currently registered with a dental surgery can contact NHS 111. This service also operates outside of working hours.
Patients who do need to attend an emergency hub will be treated by dental professionals kitted out in PPE and their temperature will be taken on arrival to keep staff and patients safe.
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