The government's plan to increase NHS urgent dental appointments across England, starting in April 2025.
We received information that there is expected to be from April about 68,000 extra urgent dental appointments available for Portsmouth dentists to offer to be contracted to provide NHS appointments for.
Each Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been given a target for additional urgent dental appointments. The extra appointments will be paid for using unspent dental budget funds.
"Urgent" means cases with significant pain, broken teeth, or serious infections but does not include pre-cancer treatment checks. ICBs can decide how to arrange the extra appointments, but there is no single national strategy. The targets are not mandatory, and there are no penalties for not meeting them.
Healthwatch England is concerned that public expectations might be raised too high and stresses the need for clear communication about available appointments.