Emergency dentist cost: NHS 111, urgent charges and private fees

The urgent NHS charge

An urgent or emergency NHS dental appointment in England costs £27.90 from 1 April 2026, up from £27.40. The charge equals band 1. Leaflet HC11 states urgent and out-of-hours care costs no more than the band 1 rate, so an evening or weekend appointment through NHS 111 carries the same £27.90.

The urgent course can include:

• assessment, advice and X-rays
• a temporary filling
• emergency partial root canal treatment
• care for a knocked-out tooth
• refitting an inlay, crown or bridge
• removing up to 2 teeth
• draining an abscess and aftercare for an infection
• adjusting dentures or braces
• one urgent filling

Routine fillings are not part of the urgent course. They are band 2 work at £76.60, booked as a new course once the emergency is dealt with.

Stopping bleeding from the mouth, for example after an extraction, and removing stitches carry no charge. Anyone exempt from NHS dental charges, such as under 18s or pregnant women, pays nothing for urgent care either.

What counts as urgent

The NHS lists these symptoms as reasons to call NHS 111 or use 111 online:

• a knocked-out tooth
• severe tooth or mouth pain affecting your sleep or daily activities
• a broken or loose filling, denture, crown, bridge or veneer

An adult with a knocked-out tooth should be offered emergency dental care within 1 hour, or as soon as possible. For other urgent symptoms the NHS says you should be offered treatment within 24 hours or 7 days, depending on the symptoms. While you wait, a pharmacist can advise on painkillers.

When to go to A&E

A&E or 999 is for injuries and symptoms beyond dental care. The NHS lists:

• serious injuries to the face or jaw
• heavy bleeding from the mouth which will not stop
• severe swelling of the mouth, lips, throat or neck with difficulty breathing or opening one or both eyes
• any head or face injury causing loss of consciousness, vomiting or double vision

The NHS advises against driving yourself to A&E. Ask someone to drive you, or call 999 for an ambulance. Toothache on its own goes to NHS 111 or a dentist.

How to get seen on the NHS

1. Ring your usual practice if you have one. The NHS says you can contact any NHS dentist and ask for an appointment if you have symptoms.
2. If no practice can see you, call NHS 111 or use 111 online. Say which symptom you have.
3. Take proof of any exemption, such as a maternity exemption certificate or HC2, to avoid the £27.90 charge.
4. After the urgent visit, book any permanent fillings or crowns as a routine course.

Dental school clinics do not replace urgent care. Guy's Hospital, for example, does not provide emergency or urgent dental care and tells people in pain to call NHS 111.

Private emergency appointments

Private practices charge a fee for an emergency appointment. Bupa Dental Care publishes the fee at each practice:

The price lists show treatments as separate items. At Trowbridge, if a tooth extraction (from £190) is charged on top of the £170 appointment, the visit costs at least £360. Ask what the emergency fee includes before you book.

How much the NHS route saves

Lost crown refitted. At an NHS urgent appointment in England the refit costs £27.90. A private emergency appointment at Bupa Trowbridge costs £170, which is £142.10 more.

Painful tooth removed. The NHS urgent course covers removing up to 2 teeth for £27.90. At Bupa Trowbridge the emergency fee and one extraction, if charged separately, start at £360, a difference of at least £332.10.

Abscess drained, then a filling. The urgent course costs £27.90. A permanent filling later is a band 2 course at £76.60.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Wales charges £37.50 for its urgent care package from 1 April 2026, up from £30. In Scotland the examination itself is free for residents, and other treatment costs 80% of the fee, up to £384 a course. Northern Ireland charges 80% of the dentist's fee up to £384, and nidirect lists out-of-hours emergency treatment among Health Service treatments. The dental charges by nation guide has the full lists.

Mistakes that cost money

Booking a private emergency slot before trying NHS 111. The fee alone is £74 to £170 at the Bupa practices listed, against £27.90 for the whole NHS urgent course in England.

Expecting the urgent visit to cover routine work. One urgent filling is included. Further fillings are a new band 2 course at £76.60.

Going to A&E with toothache. A&E is for the injuries and symptoms in the NHS list.

Forgetting proof of exemption. Without it the form is marked "no evidence seen" and checked later. If you are not sure you qualify, HC11 says to pay and claim a refund on form HC5(D) within 3 months.

Where the figures come from

The 111 symptoms, the 1-hour and 24-hour to 7-day timescales, the A&E list and the pharmacist advice are from the NHS website page on finding an emergency dentist. The urgent course contents and free items are from the NHS website page on understanding NHS dental charges. The £27.90 charge, the previous £27.40 and the Welsh £37.50 and £30 figures are from NHSBSA knowledge base article KA-02003. The out-of-hours rule and the HC5(D) refund are from leaflet HC11 (V28). The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland rules are from NHS National Services Scotland, the Welsh Government and nidirect. Bupa fees are from each practice's price page on 22 October 2026.