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
For urgent help in Neath, contact the usual dentist or follow Swansea Bay’s NHS 111 instructions when you have no dentist or need out-of-hours advice. Explain any recent treatment and where you are staying. Do not assume an emergency department is the destination for ordinary toothache; follow the clinical advice and the emergency warning signs on this page. Confirm the dental venue offered and ask how any remaining treatment will be arranged after the first visit.
Swansea Bay advises patients with a dentist to contact that practice. If you have no regular dentist or need urgent help outside normal hours, its published route is NHS 111 for advice and assessment of appropriate dental access. Routine NHS interest uses the Welsh Dental Access Portal, with assistance available through the board for people who cannot apply online.
If a Neath patient is offered care in Swansea, Port Talbot or another area, ask whether subsequent stages use the same venue and whether the complete journey is practical. Check whether the appointment is for immediate assessment or a planned course, and obtain the proposed charges and follow-up responsibilities. Keep a routine portal application separate from the instructions for an urgent visit.
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