Patients with urgent dental needs prioritised as pressure builds on Dumfries practices
Dental teams in Dumfries and Galloway are prioritising patients with urgent needs, as pressure on practices grows.
Julie Hunter, manager for dental services at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, explained that practices are currently working under restrictions due to Covid-19 and this means that backlogs are taking time to clear.
The demand for appointments is growing, which means that clinics are under intense pressure. As a result, most practices in the area are prioritising patients with emergency dental needs.
For the moment, patients who are looking to book appointments for routine services, such as check-ups, have been advised to wait while teams clear treatment backlogs and tend to those with urgent dental issues.
It could be some time before clinics are running at pre-pandemic capacity and this means that waiting times will continue to grow.
Practice staff and health bodies have urged residents to be patient and to understand that teams are working flat out to see as many patients as possible under challenging circumstances.
Dentists in Dumfries have stressed that help is available for those with urgent dental needs. Patients can contact their regular dentist to get an emergency appointment. Those who don’t have a dentist can contact the Dental Helpline on 0845 6026417 between 8am and 6pm or call NHS 24 on 111.
Examples of dental emergencies include facial injuries, broken teeth, abscesses and infections and intense, severe pain.
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