Adult and Child routine dental treatment during COVID-19 pandemic
We are pleased to say that Newcastle Dental Hospital has now resumed all of our usual dental treatments to varying degrees. This includes treatment by students, and treatments involving sedation or general anaesthetic.
Those patients who have had treatments cancelled or postponed shall be contacted in due course.
Some procedures and processes are now different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure the safety of patients and staff, you shall be informed of how these affect you or the delivery of your treatment either before or at your appointment.
Some of our consultations may take place by telephone or video-consultation platforms.
In line with government guidance we advise patients attend alone wherever possible, and attend no more than 15 minutes before their appointment. Social distancing should be maintained wherever possible.
Patients (and escorts) shall be screened for COVID-19 at the entrance to the hospital, and are advised not to bring any unnecessary bags or clothing. Please do not come to the hospital if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.
All patients are asked to attend wearing a face mask and use hand sanitiser as directed. Staff will wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) according to the situation.
Emergency dental treatment for children or adults:
Newcastle Dental Hospital is no longer offering a ‘walk in’ service for dental emergencies due to the risk of spreading coronavirus.
If you have a dental emergency, please contact your family General Dental Practitioner (the dentist you see on the “high street” normally) in the first instance by telephone. They may be able to provide guidance or help over the phone.
If you have difficulty getting in touch with a dentist you should phone NHS 111 service for advice.
If your dentist or NHS 111 feel you need to be seen they may refer you to an urgent dental care centre near you or to Newcastle Dental Hospital.
The dental service available at the Dental Hospital has only a limited capacity and only currently sees children and adults with the following conditions:
- Dental abscess causing swelling of the face, or large swelling of the gum
- Dental injury (trauma) which is severe
- Severe unremitting Acute Pain. Acute pain not resolved with over the counter painkillers – (please ensure you take these within the recommended limits on the packaging. Taking more than recommended will not help with the pain and may cause you to become unwell)
- Severe and uncontrollable bleeding
This emergency dental treatment service at Newcastle Dental Hospital can only accept a limited number of patients based on their needs.
To be seen you will have been triaged (clinically assessed) over the telephone by either your General Dental Practitioner in the community or the NHS 111 service and then referred to us.
At that point our team will contact you to take more information regarding your condition and arrange an appointment for you if this is appropriate.
The reason this approach is being taken is to limit face-to-face contact to where it is absolutely necessary in line with the government’s social distancing guidance.
Please do not contact the Dental Hospital directly unless the patient is under 16 years old.
Appointments will be available from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 4pm (except bank holidays).
Please note that we currently have a reduced capacity for sedation and general anaesthetic services. Access to this will depend on clinical need, and service capacity.
Any patient who does receive an appointment at the Dental Hospital will be triaged on entry to the hospital for symptoms of coronavirus.
What if I am in self-isolation?
If you or your child has a dental condition as detailed above and your family is in isolation, please ensure you inform your General Dental Practitioner or 111 when you call them.
We do treat patients needing care in isolation if they have certain conditions and will arrange an appointment to fit with your needs if it is appropriate to do so.
You will need to make it clear that you are isolating when being triaged on the telephone, and on arrival to the hospital.
Information for General Dental Practitioners
Newcastle Dental Hospital is accepting referrals as per the pre-COVID pandemic via the usual formats (letter or e-mail) and in line with the circulated referral criteria.
If, following patient assessment in line with the Chief Dental Officer’s recommendations, you feel that your patient needs urgent dental treatment that you are unable to provide, please refer them to Local Urgent Care Centres, where available.
Please note that Newcastle Dental Hospital may not be your local hub. Please follow the local guidance from NHS England regarding Local Urgent Care Centres.
If you would like to refer a patient, please complete our referral form and email it to
nuth.dentalemergencyclinicnuth@nhs.net
from a secure nhs.net account. We will then contact the patient for telephone assessment and treatment if needed. Please ensure your patient understands the limited treatment we are able to provide, which may be a dental extraction.
If you would like to discuss a paediatric referral, then please contact the Paediatric Dental Emergency Clinic on 0191 282 5110.
