Emergency Dental Care in Fulham

Following recent NHS guidance, emergency appointments are now referred to as unscheduled care appointments and are reserved strictly for patients who are in pain or have a condition that may worsen significantly if not treated promptly. This includes issues such as swelling, persistent bleeding following an extraction, lost or broken temporary crowns or fillings, dislodged crowns or bridges, or broken dentures. If you require urgent care, please contact the practice at 8:00 am to request an unscheduled urgent care appointment. These are allocated on the day and you will be seen by the first available dentist, who may not be your usual clinician.

During your unscheduled urgent care appointment, our priority is to relieve pain, stabilise the condition, and provide any immediate necessary treatment. You will then be advised to book a follow-up Dental Health Check appointment with your own dentist, who will assess and plan any further or permanent treatment required. For non-urgent concerns outside of your routine recall appointments, an unscheduled non-urgent care appointment can be arranged with your usual dentist at the earliest available time. It is worth noting that this appointment will only provide temporary treatment after which a routine Dental Health Check appointment will be required for any necessary permanent treatment.

Urgent Unscheduled Care- refers to conditions that require urgent attention but are not life-threatening. Urgent dental care includes the triage and management of these conditions and is usually provided within 24 hours or as soon as practicably possible. Examples of urgent conditions include:

• Oro-facial swelling or infection that is spreading, recurrent or continuing, with lymphadenopathy (without airway or intracranial compromise)
• Severe dental and facial pain (that is, pain that cannot be controlled by the patient following self-help advice including analgesia)
• Dentoalveolar injuries, including fractured teeth and severe luxation injuries, that affect oral function or pose a risk to the airway
• Intra-oral bleeding that can be controlled with local measures
• Severe gingival bleeding requiring urgent treatment, or acute conditions of the gingivae or oral mucosa – including therapy for pericoronitis or for rapidly progressive or necrotising periodontal disease and viral lesions along with any relevant necessary oral hygiene advice or coaching

This covers patients requiring face-to-face professional care within 7 days and can include the following types of cases:

• Mild or moderate pain that responds to pain-relief measures
• Minor dental trauma that may require a professional review without clinical intervention (such as concussion injuries involving permanent teeth)
• Post extraction bleeding that the patient can control using self-help measures
• Loose or displaced crowns, bridges or veneers that are not a risk to the airway
• Fractured or ill-fitting dentures (and other appliances) that are affecting oral function or causing oral trauma
• Fractured posts
• Fractured, loose or displaced fillings
• Treatment of sensitive cementum or dentine
• Significantly loose teeth that are not a risk to the airway
• Oral soft tissue infections or persistent lesions

The lists above are neither exclusive nor exhaustive.

Unscheduled care appointments are subject to an NHS Band 4 charge unless you are currently in an open course of treatment (undergoing treatment) or exempt from payments , in which case no additional fee will apply.

Please be aware that as this is a clinical environment, delays can occur and you may need to wait your turn despite our best efforts to remain on schedule. If you leave the premises and your name is called, you may lose your place in the queue, so please remain attentive.