Referrals for specialist services can be made by a medical doctor or dental practitioner. Self referrals by patients are not accepted. On the ground floor of the dental hospital there is a walk-in ticket facility for those with urgent dental problems.
Emergency dental services
In an emergency please contact NHS Direct in the first instance at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or 0845 46 47. NHS Direct can be contacted for health advice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Walk-in emergency dental services - daytime
Birmingham Dental Hospital is a teaching hospital and the Primary Care Unit is there to support dental student teaching. Our service is therefore limited in the numbers we see and may include supervised treatment by dental students. We see patients with acute dental problems, particularly if they do not have their own dentist.
Procedure for walk-in patients:
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Tickets are allocated on a first come-first served basis, so you are advised to arrive early. Doors are open from 7.30am. We cannot guarantee there will be sufficient appointments for all who attend on a given day.
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Registration for people with tickets starts at 8.30am Monday to Friday.
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If you have a ticket and are registered, you will need to wait until you are called through. This could take up to four hours.
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If you do not receive a ticket, you will be advised to contact NHS Direct at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or 0845 46 47.
Please note this service is not intended as a substitute for regular care provided by a general dental practitioner. If you are not registered with a dental practice, please call NHS Direct 0845 46 47 or visit www.nhs.uk.
For some patients, we may be able to offer continuing student treatment for general dental care. There is no guarantee that you will be accepted for treatment. If we cannot accept you, we will advise of other ways to find dental care - calling NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
Out-of-hours service
Urgent treatment means treatment that the dentist considers necessary to relieve severe pain or prevent your oral condition deteriorating before you can make a normal appointment with your own dentist.
If you need urgent treatment and you have a Birmingham GP or Birmingham postcode you can contact NHS Direct on 0845 46 47. You will be asked for your personal details, such as name and address by a telephone call handler. If an urgent appointment is required, an appointment will be given to go to the out-of-hours service currently located at Attwood Green Health Centre Session times are:
Monday-Friday: 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays: 9am-1pm
The contact number will remain the same. Click here for more information about the out-of-hours service.
Please note the only way to access the out-of-hours service is by telephoning NHS Direct on 0845 46 47- please do not turn up at Attwood Green Health centre without prior notice as you will not be seen.
Missed appointments
Your appointment at the Birmingham Dental Hospital is important to you and to us. If you are unable to keep your appointment please contact the hospital by telephoning at least 24 hours in advance by the contact number contained within your appointment letter, alternatively click here for departmental contacts or email at least 48 hours in advance at dental.hospital@nhs.net quoting your hospital number.
This will enable the hospital to transfer your appointment time to someone else and arrange a more convenient time for you.
If you fail to keep your appointment without letting the hospital know it is likely that no further appointments will be made for you without a further referral.
Last year there were over 10,000 patients who failed to attend their appointments. Please help us to reduce this.
