Finding an NHS dentist in Wales easier with new digital portal

A new digital service to help make it easier to find an NHS dentist is being been rolled out across Wales.

The Dental Access Portal provides a central platform for people to register their interest in NHS dentistry and for health boards to allocate places for routine NHS dental treatment.

The service will provide a clear picture of the scale of demand for NHS dental services and will mean people no longer need to call multiple dental surgeries to try to find an NHS dentist.

To apply through the Dental Access Portal, people must:

·        be aged 16 or over (parents/guardians can apply for under 16 year olds)

·        not have received routine dental treatment on the NHS in the last 4 years

·        live at an address in Wales for more than 6 months of the year or attend a Welsh GP practice

Speaking as the new service goes live across Wales, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said:

Access to NHS dentistry is not where we or the public want it to be.

This new service will help people who may not have seen a dentist for some time get access to routine NHS appointments.

Since the trial began in Powys, thousands of people have already been added to the list and will be allocated an NHS dentist as appointments become available.

Warren Tolley, dental director at Powys Teaching Health Board, which was the first part of Wales to trial the new portal, said:

Our experience has been extremely positive. The interface is very user friendly, allowing people to quickly enter their details, and the admin function has made allocating people to a dental practice quick and easy.

The new dental access portal will be run by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).

Sam Hall, director of primary care, community and mental health digital services at DHCW said:

The development of the Dental Access Portal means we now have a national platform that can provide a clearer picture of demand for routine NHS Wales dental services.

Allowing people to enrol themselves or people they care for using one online system simplifies and makes fairer the process of registering an interest with an NHS dentist for everyone in Wales.

Jeremy Miles added:

Capturing this information in one place will have enormous benefits, it will provide health boards with a clear understanding of need in their area and enable them to manage the allocation of people to dental practices as capacity allows.

For the public it will remove the need for them to have to contact multiple practices, providing an equitable and fairer system of access to all.

Anyone who is already a patient at an NHS dental practice should call them directly for any routine or emergency dental appointments.

If you don’t currently have an NHS Wales dentist and you need:

·        urgent dental treatment: please visit the NHS 111 Wales website for more information

·        routine dental treatment: you can apply for a place online via the Dental Access Portal

If you are eligible and you apply, you will be contacted when an appointment becomes available.