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
An urgent enquiry from Flint should state the town and whether you are already receiving treatment. Contact your own practice or follow the North Wales urgent route; community care requires an accepted referral rather than walk-in attendance. Check the venue supplied after assessment, particularly if it is described by a wider county label. Once immediate care is delivered, ask what remains and how continuing treatment will be organised with the appropriate dentist.
The Betsi Cadwaladr urgent service requires appointments. Start with your existing dentist where possible; if you have no dentist or need help outside its hours, follow NHS 111 Wales. Routine NHS interest uses the Welsh Dental Access Portal. Community dentistry takes professional referrals against its criteria; it is not an open registration alternative.
If an offer is described as being in Flintshire, establish whether it is in Flint itself before comparing travel. Review the current station access details and lift status if rail forms part of the journey. Discuss mobility or carer support inside the receiving clinic separately. Where a treatment plan moves between venues, ask who keeps the overall record and coordinates reviews.
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