Claypath Medical Practice is a GP surgery and does not provide dental care.

Our doctors are not able to prescribe for dental reasons.

As such, if you have a problem with your teeth or gums, you will need to make an appointment with an NHS dentist. More information about how to do so can be found below.

Urgent Dental Problems

You should make an urgent dental appointment if you have:

  • Toothache that is so bad it causes pain that does not stop or ease with over-the-counter pain relief.
  • Swelling in the mouth or face, like abscesses or infections, that causes pain or fever.
  • Broken, chipped or knocked-out teeth.
  • Bleeding in the mouth after a dental procedure or injury that does not stop by itself. If bleeding cannot be controlled, you might need emergency care. 
  • Loose or broken fillings, crowns, veneers, posts or dentures. 
  • Bleeding from gums.
  • Problems with the soft areas of the mouth, like cheeks or tongue.

How to get an urgent appointment

1) Call your dentist (if you have one)

If you already have an NHS dentist who you see regularly for routine care, please phone them in the first instance to see if they can offer you an urgent appointment.

If you have a private dentist who you see regularly, you can also contact them, but please note that private fees may apply for any care they offer.

2) Contact other NHS dentists that have extra urgent appointments

The dental practices listed below are funded to offer extra urgent appointments. You can contact any of the practices to ask for an appointment even if you are not a patient with them.

There is a more extensive list of providers on the ICB website, but please note these are more distant from Durham.

3) Contact NHS 111 for dental urgent care if there are no other options

You should contact 111.nhs.uk or call 111 if you cannot find an urgent appointment with any of the NHS dental services above.

Routine NHS Dental Care

If you do not have an NHS dentist, the only way to arrange routine dental care is to telephone local dental surgeries to find out if any have availability for appointments.

There are also private dentists who often have more availability, but their costs will be significantly higher than NHS dental care.