Local treatment planning
Understand the treatment and the local access route before requesting care. The treating practice assesses suitability and confirms any appointment, fees and follow-up.
Urgent dental safety
Seek urgent dental assessment for severe or persistent pain, increasing swelling, a knocked-out adult tooth or bleeding after an extraction. Call 999 or go to A&E for serious facial injury, heavy bleeding that will not stop, or severe mouth or neck swelling affecting breathing or swallowing. Do not wait for an Odenta response.
For urgent dental problems, contact your usual practice or follow your local health board's dental helpline instructions. The correct route can vary by health-board area. The routine Dental Access Portal is not an emergency service: do not wait for an allocation if pain, swelling or injury needs attention.
Local patient planning
If you need urgent dental help in Carmarthen, identify any usual dentist or referral already underway and describe how the problem has changed. Use the existing practice or Hywel Dda’s unregistered-patient route through NHS 111 Wales. Do not assume a referral application supplies an urgent appointment. Confirm where the assessment will occur and ask which dentist is responsible for completing the treatment after the immediate problem has been addressed.
Hywel Dda’s urgent instructions start with the existing dental practice for registered patients and NHS 111 Wales for those without a dentist. Community dentistry is referral-only for eligible adults and children with additional needs. Routine NHS interest goes through the Dental Access Portal, independently of urgent triage and an Odenta request.
For a referral involving Carmarthen, explain the difficulties you face receiving care in a general practice so the receiving service can assess the appropriate clinic. Ask who will provide reviews and maintenance after the referred course ends. If travelling from outside town, consider repeat attendance and any assistance needed, rather than planning only for the first assessment.
If you do not have an NHS dentist, the Welsh Dental Access Portal lets eligible people register interest in routine NHS care. Health boards allocate places when they become available. Check the official eligibility and application guidance, including applications for children or someone you care for. Keep using your usual practice if you already have one.
Understand dental access in WalesLocal access sources checked . These independent public services are separate from DAN participation. Follow their current instructions.
A dental professional assesses the problem, your symptoms and relevant medical history.
Prompt assessment can identify whether pain, swelling, trauma or a broken restoration needs urgent treatment.
An online request is not a diagnosis and does not guarantee a same-day appointment.
Ask whether the quoted fee covers assessment only or includes X-rays and immediate treatment.
This is general information. Your clinician assesses the problem, explains alternatives and agrees your individual plan.
Read the complete emergency dentist guide
For dental practices
Apply through DAN, complete onboarding and control your public profile, services and patient requests. Your practice decides whether it can offer an appointment.
Apply to join DAN