For patients
How to find an NHS dentist taking on new patients
Finding an NHS dentist takes phone calls. This page sets out the order to make them in, what to do when the answer is no, and what children and new parents are entitled to.
The steps
- You do not need to register anywhere first. The NHS says you can contact any NHS dentist and ask for an appointment, whether you need a check-up or you have symptoms. There is no catchment area and no list you have to be on before you ring. How to find an NHS dentist.
- Say that you want an NHS appointment. Many practices do NHS and private work in the same building. If you do not say which you want, you may be offered a private appointment.
- Start with the NHS's own directory. Find a dentist on nhs.uk covers England and shows what each practice last told the NHS about taking new patients, and the date they last confirmed it. That is the closest thing to a current public answer. Find a dentist on nhs.uk.
- Work down a list, not one number. Our NHS town pages give you every practice in a town we can show is providing NHS treatment, with the phone number, opening hours and rating on each card. Ring them in turn. The answer varies practice by practice and week by week. Our NHS town pages.
- Widen the area. Try the neighbouring towns next. A practice ten minutes further out is often taking patients when the ones nearest you are not.
- Ask to be put on the waiting list. The NHS says you may be asked to join a waiting list before you can get an appointment, so ask to go on it rather than ringing off. Ask roughly how long it is and whether they will call you.
- If you get nowhere, contact your integrated care board (England). In England, your local integrated care board manages dental services in your area and may be able to tell you where you can get an appointment. Find your local integrated care board.
- Try again. Practices open NHS lists when funding or staffing changes, often without announcing it. An answer from six weeks ago is not the answer today.
One thing worth knowing about step 1. At a first visit you may be asked to fill in a form to register with the practice. The NHS is clear that this does not mean you will always be able to get NHS care at that practice in future.
Where a practice's own answer lives
The practice knows whether it is taking on new NHS patients. Nobody else knows it sooner.
The NHS's own Find a dentist directory carries what each practice last told it. Every entry we looked at on 20 September 2026 showed one of a small number of answers: that the practice is accepting new NHS patients for routine care, and which groups it is accepting; that it is only accepting new NHS patients for specialist care by referral; that it offers urgent dental care; or that the practice has not confirmed whether it is accepting new patients. Where a practice has given an answer, the directory prints the date they last confirmed it.
We do not copy that answer onto our pages. A copy would be right on the day we took it and wrong soon after, and a stale answer about NHS availability is worse than no answer. So we publish what NHS treatment a practice has recently provided, and we send you to the practice and to the NHS directory for whether they are taking anyone on.
What our NHS town pages show
Our NHS town pages list the practices in a town we can show are providing NHS treatment.
In England, that means a practice whose NHS contract delivered treatment in the most recent month the NHS Business Services Authority has published. That month is currently June 2026. The data is published about eleven weeks after the month it covers, so a practice that signed a new contract recently may not be on the page yet.
In Scotland, it means the practice appears in the Public Health Scotland dental practice data. In Wales and Northern Ireland, it means the regulator records the practice as providing NHS treatment.
None of that says whether a practice is taking on new patients. It narrows the list of numbers worth ringing.
Children
NHS dental treatment is free for anyone under 18, and for anyone under 19 in full time education.
A practice that has closed its NHS list to adults may still be taking children. The NHS directory lists the groups separately, so a practice can be accepting children aged 17 or under, or adults entitled to free dental care, without accepting adults generally. Ask about your children even if you have been turned down yourself.
The NHS advises taking a child to the dentist when their first milk teeth appear, or before they are 12 months old, partly so the surgery becomes familiar.
From the age of 3, children should be offered fluoride varnish at least twice a year. Younger children may be offered it if the dentist thinks they need it. Fissure sealants can be done once the permanent back teeth come through, usually around 6 or 7, and again between 11 and 14. Ask about both.
Orthodontic treatment such as braces is available on the NHS where a dentist or orthodontist decides it is clinically necessary, using a standard assessment.
If you are pregnant, or had a baby in the last 12 months
You are entitled to free NHS dental treatment while you are pregnant and for 12 months after your baby is born. The same applies if you have had a stillbirth in the past 12 months.
To get it, ask your midwife, GP or health visitor about a maternity exemption certificate (MatEx). They complete the application form for you, and you are usually entitled to it as soon as you know you are pregnant. Ask if it has not been offered.
The NHS also accepts other proof for dental treatment, including a maternity certificate (MAT B1), a notification of birth form, your baby's birth certificate, or a stillbirth certificate.
This matters for access as well as cost. Some practices that are not taking adults generally are still taking adults entitled to free dental care, so say that you are exempt when you ring.
What should not happen
The NHS lists things an NHS dentist should not do. They should not take a deposit before assessing your mouth. They should not ask you to pay privately for an appointment to find out whether you will be accepted as an NHS patient. They should not ask you to become a private patient so that your child can get NHS treatment. They should not charge you a fee for missing an NHS appointment.
If a practice asks for any of those, it is worth saying so and trying the next number on your list.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The NHS Find a dentist directory covers England only. The other three nations have their own routes.
Scotland. Not all practices take on new NHS patients, so ask when you first make contact. NHS inform explains registering and what to do next, and links to a search for practices in your area.
Wales. Use the NHS 111 Wales local services directory to find dental practices near you, then ring and ask for an NHS appointment.
Northern Ireland. Contact practices in your area directly. Not all have the capacity to take new patients, so you may have to join a waiting list or look outside your area. nidirect explains registering as a Health Service dental patient and links to the practice list.
What NHS treatment costs
Most adults pay for NHS dental treatment, and the amount depends on the treatment rather than the number of appointments. See our page on what an NHS dental appointment costs.
Urgent dental care
Dentist Locator is not an emergency service. For urgent dental help in England, Scotland or Wales, call 111. In Northern Ireland, see the nidirect guidance. In a medical emergency, call 999.
Where everything on this page comes from
All checked on 20 September 2026.
| Fact on this page | Source | The source's own date |
|---|---|---|
| You can contact any NHS dentist and ask for an appointment; some practices do both NHS and private work, so ask for NHS; you may be asked to join a waiting list; registering does not guarantee NHS care there in future; contact your integrated care board if you cannot find one | NHS, How to find an NHS dentist | Last reviewed 6 February 2025 |
| The directory covers England only; it shows the practice's own answer for routine care, the groups they accept, referral-only specialist care, urgent care, or that they have not confirmed; entries carry a last confirmed date | NHS, Find a dentist, and the practice pages beneath it | Live service, read 20 September 2026 |
| Free NHS dental treatment for under 18s and under 19s in full time education; pregnant or had a baby in the last 12 months; stillbirth in the past 12 months | NHS, Who can get free NHS dental treatment or help with dental costs | Last reviewed 11 February 2025 |
| First visit when milk teeth appear or before 12 months; fluoride varnish at least twice a year from age 3; fissure sealants at about 6 or 7 and again between 11 and 14 | NHS, Taking care of children's teeth | Last reviewed 30 June 2025 |
| Orthodontic treatment is available on the NHS where it is clinically necessary, assessed by a standard method | NHS, How much NHS dental treatment costs | Last reviewed 13 March 2025 |
| Free NHS dental treatment while pregnant and for 12 months after birth; the maternity exemption certificate is completed by your midwife, GP or health visitor; you are usually entitled as soon as you know you are pregnant | NHS, NHS maternity care and benefits when you're pregnant | Last reviewed 6 March 2026 |
| Other accepted proof: a maternity certificate (MAT B1), a notification of birth form, a birth certificate, a stillbirth certificate | NHS Business Services Authority, Free NHS dental treatment | Not stated |
| What should not happen at an NHS dental appointment | NHS, What happens when you visit an NHS dentist | Last reviewed 13 March 2025 |
| Scotland: not all dentists take on new NHS patients, so ask at first contact; how registering works | NHS inform, Receiving NHS dental treatment in Scotland | Last updated 27 July 2026 |
| Wales: the local services directory lists dental practices near you | NHS 111 Wales, Services near you | Not stated |
| Northern Ireland: contact practices directly, not all have capacity, you may join a waiting list or look outside your area | nidirect, Seeing a dentist | Not stated |
| What our NHS town pages show, and the June 2026 data month | Our own published records, and the same figures the NHS town pages render | Read 20 September 2026 |