Last updated: May 2026. Written by the Dentists Closeby editorial team, with figures verified against NHS.uk, NHS England, NHSBSA, Gov.uk, NHS Inform Scotland, GOV.WALES and Healthwatch England.
TL;DR To get an out-of-hours dentist in England, call NHS 111 or use 111.nhs.uk at any time, day or night. A trained adviser assesses your symptoms and directs you to urgent dental care, usually within 24 hours for genuine emergencies. Urgent NHS treatment costs £27.90, unless you qualify for free care.
A throbbing tooth at 9pm on a Saturday, a knocked-out tooth on a bank holiday, a face swelling while your own practice is shut until Monday: dental problems rarely wait for opening hours. The good news is that England has a clear route to urgent care outside normal hours, and you can use it whether or not you are registered with a dentist. This guide explains exactly how out-of-hours dental access works through NHS 111, what counts as "out of hours", what you will pay, and what to do when no NHS appointment is available.
This article focuses on the access mechanics in England. If you want a fuller picture of dental emergencies in general, including symptoms and treatments, see our emergency dentist guide. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own systems, and the key differences are flagged near the end.
How to get an out-of-hours dentist: call NHS 111
In England, NHS 111 is the front door to out-of-hours urgent dental care. The service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you reach it by calling 111 free from any phone or by going to 111.nhs.uk online [1]. You do not need to be registered with a dentist, and you do not need to use your own practice.
When you contact NHS 111 with a dental problem, a trained health adviser, or a dental nurse where one is available, works through a clinical triage assessment based on your symptoms. NHS.uk explains plainly: "You'll be given advice on what type of appointment you'll need, depending on your symptoms" [1]. The assessment sorts your problem into one of three routes:
- Urgent dental care, where you are offered or referred to an appointment, often within 24 hours
- Self-care and signposting, where your problem can wait and you are told how to manage it
- A&E or 999, in the rare cases where a dental problem has become a medical emergency
NHS 111 holds an up-to-date directory of local services, which is why it can point you to the right place even in an area you do not know. As one NHS commissioning body puts it, "NHS 111 can advise you where you can get seen and, in appropriate cases, organise an emergency dental appointment", and any appointment "may be at a different practice than your regular dentist but typically nearby" [2].
Phone or online: which to use
Both routes use the same underlying clinical assessment, so you can choose whichever suits you. Calling 111 connects you to a person, which is often better if you are in significant pain or distress. Using 111.nhs.uk online is available for anyone aged 5 and over in England and can be quicker at busy times, after which you may receive a callback [3]. NHS.uk confirms that for the online tool, "if you need to go to a dentist, we'll tell you how to find one or you can contact your own" [3].
Direct booking is expanding
Historically, NHS 111 would assess you and then give you a number to ring yourself. That is changing. Since May 2024, a pilot in Mid and South Essex has let NHS 111 book urgent dental appointments directly into practice scheduling systems, and nearly 10,000 appointments were booked this way in the scheme's first period [10]. Direct booking is not yet universal across England, so in many areas you will still be referred rather than booked on the spot, but the direction of travel is towards 111 securing the slot for you.
What counts as "out of hours" for a dentist?
"Out of hours" has a specific meaning in the NHS, and it is not the same as simply not having a dentist. Across NHS services, out of hours is defined as 6.30pm to 8am on weekdays, plus all day at weekends and on bank holidays [1]. These are the periods when dental practices are normally closed and urgent care is handled differently.
Most NHS dental practices open during ordinary working hours, roughly Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm, though some offer extended evening or weekend appointments. Outside those hours, urgent care is delivered through dedicated out-of-hours dental services, urgent dental care hubs, or dental access centres, all of which you reach through NHS 111.
Local out-of-hours services keep different hours, which is exactly why a single national access point matters. The table below shows how much regional opening times can vary.
| Region | Weekday evenings | Weekends and bank holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle / North of Tyne | 6pm to 10pm | 9am to 9pm |
| East Sussex | 6.30pm to 10.30pm | 9am to 5.30pm |
| Oxfordshire | 6.30pm to 9.30pm | 9am to 6pm (9am to 9pm bank holidays) |
| Medway (DentaLine) | 6pm to 11pm | 8.30am to 1.25pm |
These are illustrative local examples, drawn from regional NHS service pages [2]. You do not need to memorise them, because NHS 111 always knows what is open near you right now.
It helps to be clear about what out of hours is not. It does not simply mean you have no regular dentist, and it does not mean any time a practice happens to be closed for lunch. It refers to evenings, weekends and bank holidays when routine dental surgeries are shut, and it is the window in which the urgent-care system described in this guide takes over.
Emergency, urgent or routine? How NHS 111 will categorise you
NHS 111 triage sorts dental problems by clinical urgency, and understanding the categories helps you set realistic expectations. NHS England's clinical guidance on unscheduled dental care, published in May 2025 and updated in October 2025, defines three tiers [4].
| Category | Target timescale | Typical examples |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Clinical triage within 60 minutes | Airway compromise from spreading infection, life-threatening bleeding, severe facial fractures |
| Urgent | Care within 24 hours | Spreading infection with swelling, severe pain not controlled by painkillers, dental trauma, bleeding after an extraction |
| Non-urgent | Care within 7 days | Mild pain relieved by over-the-counter medicine, a chipped tooth, a lost filling or crown with no pain |
A genuine emergency is rare and usually involves a problem that has stopped being purely dental. Most out-of-hours calls fall into the urgent tier, where the aim is to see you within 24 hours [4]. If your problem is non-urgent, NHS 111 may give you self-care advice and direct you to seek routine care within a week rather than offer an immediate appointment.
Conditions that qualify for an urgent appointment
NHS sources consistently list the following as reasons to seek urgent out-of-hours dental care [1][4]:
- Severe toothache that painkillers do not control and that disturbs sleep or daily life
- A dental abscess with swelling, pain or fever
- A knocked-out, broken or badly displaced tooth from injury
- Bleeding from the mouth after dental work or trauma that does not stop with gentle pressure
- Significant swelling in the mouth or face that suggests infection
- A painful broken or lost filling, crown or denture
When to skip 111 and call 999 or go to A&E
Some situations are medical emergencies, not routine dental problems, and you should not wait for a dental appointment. Call 999 or go straight to A&E if you have heavy bleeding from the mouth that will not stop, swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing, a serious injury to your face or jaw, or swelling spreading towards your eye or down your neck [5]. The NHS.uk toothache guidance is explicit that swelling around the eyes or neck, or swelling that affects breathing, means you should go to A&E immediately [5].
One firm rule applies in every case: do not contact your GP for a dental emergency. GPs cannot provide dental treatment, and NHS guidance repeatedly tells patients "do not go to your GP" for dental problems [1].
What you will pay for urgent out-of-hours treatment
Out-of-hours NHS dental care is charged at the same rate as in-hours urgent care. In England, urgent NHS dental treatment costs £27.90, the same as a Band 1 course of treatment, from 1 April 2026 [7]. Crucially, you pay this single charge for the whole urgent episode, even if it takes more than one appointment to complete [7].
For context, here is how the urgent charge sits within the wider NHS band system in England.
| Band | Charge (from 1 April 2026) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent care | £27.90 | Emergency treatment such as pain relief, a temporary filling, draining an abscess or managing an injury |
| Band 1 | £27.90 | Examination, X-rays, advice, and a scale and polish if clinically needed |
| Band 2 | £76.60 | Everything in Band 1, plus fillings, extractions and root canal treatment |
| Band 3 | £332.10 | Everything in Bands 1 and 2, plus crowns, bridges and dentures |
These are the charges from 1 April 2026 [7]. If your urgent visit stabilises the problem but you later need further, non-urgent work, that follow-up counts as a separate course of treatment with its own charge. For a full breakdown of how the bands work, see our NHS dental charges guide.
Free urgent treatment: who qualifies
If you are entitled to free NHS dental care, that entitlement applies to urgent and out-of-hours treatment too. You receive free NHS dental treatment in England if, when treatment starts, you are [8]:
- Under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education
- Pregnant, or have had a baby in the last 12 months
- Receiving a qualifying benefit such as Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Named on a valid NHS Low Income Scheme certificate (HC2 for full help, HC3 for partial help)
Universal Credit does not automatically make treatment free. You qualify only if your earnings in your last assessment period were £435 or less, or £935 or less if your award includes a child element or a limited capability for work element [9]. Our free NHS dental treatment guide explains every exemption in detail.
What to do if you cannot get an NHS urgent appointment
The hardest reality of out-of-hours dental care is that demand often outstrips supply. Healthwatch England reported that NHS 111 online dental enquiries between July and September 2025 were around 20% higher than the year before, and that some patients made repeated calls without finding an available slot [10]. A&E dental attendances rose almost 45%, from 81,773 in 2019/20 to 117,977 in 2023/24, partly because people could not access dental care elsewhere [10]. The government has pledged 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments a year in England to ease this pressure [11], and the most recent official survey found that 78% of people who tried to get an NHS dental appointment succeeded [13]. If NHS 111 cannot find you an NHS appointment, you still have options.
Ask NHS 111 to escalate. Advisers are trained to explore alternative services if the nearest slot is full, and NHS England guidance is clear that lacking an NHS number, GP registration or a permanent address must not block access to urgent dental care [10].
Consider a private emergency dentist. Many high-street practices and dedicated emergency clinics offer same-day or out-of-hours private appointments. Private fees are not regulated and vary widely, so they typically cost considerably more than the £27.90 NHS urgent charge. Always ask for the cost before you book.
Check for a dental access centre. Some areas have NHS-commissioned urgent dental access centres for people without a regular dentist. In North East and North Cumbria, for example, an urgent dental access centre model offers 30-minute appointments, and one centre reported that 96.4% of patients received definitive treatment for their problem in a single visit [12]. Availability is not universal, so ask NHS 111 whether one operates locally.
Ask a pharmacist for interim help. A pharmacist can advise on managing pain and on common problems like a lost filling while you wait for an appointment, although they cannot treat the underlying cause or prescribe antibiotics for dental infection [5].
If you regularly struggle to find a dentist at all, our guide to finding an NHS dentist accepting new patients covers the longer-term routes.
Managing pain safely while you wait
While you are waiting for an out-of-hours or next-day appointment, sensible self-care can make the wait more bearable. These measures manage symptoms only. They do not treat the cause, and they are not a substitute for seeing a dentist [5].
- Take ibuprofen or paracetamol following the packet instructions. A pharmacist can advise on what is suitable for you. Children under 16 should not take aspirin.
- Rinse with warm salt water, half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, then spit it out. This is not suitable for young children.
- Eat soft foods and avoid chewing on the painful side.
- Avoid very hot, very cold or sweet food and drink, and avoid smoking, which can worsen dental problems.
NHS.uk advises seeing a dentist as soon as possible if toothache lasts more than two days, or sooner if it is severe or comes with fever, facial swelling or a bad taste in the mouth [5]. For more relief techniques, see our toothache relief guide.
A knocked-out tooth cannot wait
One out-of-hours emergency is genuinely time-critical. NHS.uk states that "if you've knocked out an adult tooth, you should be offered emergency dental care within 1 hour, or as soon as possible" [6]. While arranging help, hold the tooth by the crown, not the root, rinse it gently in milk if it is dirty, and try to place it back in the socket, biting on a clean cloth to hold it. If you cannot reinsert it, store it in milk or saliva and contact an emergency dentist or NHS 111 straight away [6]. Never try to reinsert a child's baby tooth, as this can damage the developing adult tooth underneath [6].
Out-of-hours dental care in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
NHS 111 covers England. The other UK nations run their own out-of-hours dental arrangements.
Scotland. The equivalent service is NHS 24, also reached by dialling 111. The out-of-hours period runs Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 8am, and from 6pm Friday until 8am Monday. NHS Inform advises: "During out-of-hours periods phone the emergency dental service on 111" [14]. Scotland uses a percentage-of-cost charging model rather than England's bands, with patients paying 80% of treatment costs up to a £384 cap, and everyone under 26 receives free care [14].
Wales. Patients call 111 for NHS 111 Wales, or use 111.wales.nhs.uk, where "you will be triaged over the phone by a dental nurse who will advise you on the best course of treatment" [15]. Under a new dental contract from April 2026, Wales charges 50% of a treatment package up to a £384 cap, and an urgent care package costs £37.50, slightly more than England's £27.90 [15].
Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland does not use NHS 111 for dental care. During working hours, unregistered patients use the Dental Access Scheme, while at weekends and bank holidays patients contact local Emergency Dental Clinics directly [16]. Charges follow an 80% cost-share model capped at £384 per course of treatment [16].
Frequently asked questions
How do I find an out-of-hours dentist in the UK?
In England, call NHS 111 or use 111.nhs.uk at any time, day or night. A trained adviser assesses your symptoms and directs you to urgent dental care, often within 24 hours. You do not need to be registered with a dentist. Scotland uses NHS 24 on 111, and Wales uses NHS 111 Wales on 111.
Can NHS 111 book a dentist appointment for me?
In some areas, yes. NHS 111 traditionally assessed your symptoms and gave you details to book yourself, but since May 2024 a growing number of regions let 111 book urgent dental appointments directly into a practice's system. Where direct booking is not yet available, 111 will refer you to a local urgent dental service to contact.
What counts as out of hours for a dentist?
Out of hours means 6.30pm to 8am on weekdays, plus all day at weekends and on bank holidays, when dental practices are normally closed. During these periods, urgent dental care is delivered through dedicated out-of-hours services, urgent dental hubs or dental access centres, all reached in England by calling NHS 111 or using 111.nhs.uk.
How much does an emergency dentist cost on the NHS?
Urgent NHS dental treatment in England costs £27.90 from 1 April 2026, the same as a Band 1 course of treatment. You pay this single charge for the whole urgent episode, even if it needs more than one appointment. Treatment is free if you qualify through age, pregnancy, certain benefits or the NHS Low Income Scheme.
Should I go to A&E for a dental emergency?
Only for genuine medical emergencies. Go to A&E or call 999 if you have uncontrollable mouth bleeding, swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing, a serious facial injury, or swelling spreading towards your eye or neck. For most urgent dental problems, including severe toothache or an abscess, call NHS 111 instead. Never go to your GP for dental care.
What do I do if I have a dental emergency at the weekend?
Contact NHS 111 by phone or at 111.nhs.uk, which operates 24 hours a day including weekends and bank holidays. You will be triaged and directed to a local out-of-hours dental service if needed. If no NHS slot is available, ask 111 to escalate, consider a private emergency dentist, or seek pharmacist advice for interim pain relief.
Can I get an out-of-hours dentist if I am not registered?
Yes. NHS 111 urgent dental care does not require you to be registered with a dentist, and in England there is no formal patient registration system anyway. NHS England guidance states that lacking an NHS number, a GP registration or a permanent address must not obstruct access to urgent dental care.
Getting urgent dental care when you need it
Dental pain outside normal hours is stressful, but England has a clear path to help. NHS 111 is open 24 hours a day, knows what is available near you, and can point you to urgent care whether or not you have a regular dentist. Knowing the route before you need it means you can act quickly when it counts.
For everyday and emergency care alike, the first step is finding the right practice. Search for a dentist near you on Dentists Closeby to compare GDC-registered NHS and private practices in your area, check their opening hours, and find out which offer urgent and out-of-hours appointments.
Sources
- How to find an emergency or urgent NHS dentist appointment -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- It's important to access emergency dental care when you need it -- NHS North West London ICB, accessed 2026-05-20
- How NHS 111 online works -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- Clinical guidance: unscheduled urgent and non-urgent dental care -- NHS England, accessed 2026-05-20
- Toothache -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- Knocked-out tooth -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- How much NHS dental treatment costs -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- Who can get free NHS dental treatment -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- Help with health costs for people getting Universal Credit -- NHS.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- What are people telling us about urgent dental care? -- Healthwatch England, accessed 2026-05-20
- Dental patients to benefit from 700,000 extra urgent appointments -- Gov.uk, accessed 2026-05-20
- New model of urgent dental care helps patients -- NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, accessed 2026-05-20
- GP Patient Survey Dental Statistics, January to March 2025 -- NHS England, accessed 2026-05-20
- Dental emergencies -- NHS Inform Scotland, accessed 2026-05-20
- Emergency treatment -- NHS 111 Wales, accessed 2026-05-20
- Health service dental charges and treatments -- nidirect, accessed 2026-05-20
