No dentist?

My son had this problem. He added his name to the waiting list of his nearest NHS Dentist, the wait was about 2 years!! In the meantime, he had really bad toothache. As habeas on the waiting list, the dentist saw him as an emergency case. He now has a regular appointment there.

habeas he had been!!

I doubt that the gp would give you abs for an abscess- they don't seen to like to risk getting it wrong.

Have you looked on NHS choices website. There is a facility to find the nearest dentist. Or ring 101 (or is it 111, I can never remember!) If you are truly desperate (ie, want to be seen today) you should find one even if it means paying a private fee.

Or your gp or pharmacy should be able to give you the contact details for your local PALS who should also be able to help.

I asked the doctor for antibiotics for an abscess and was refused help so had to go to my dentist who sorted it all
I think if you ring 111 they will tell you the nearest dentist taking on NHS patients or the nearest emergency dentist who may or may not then offer you a permanent slot Such a shame you didn’t register with one 15 months ago when you moved and registered with your doctor

I’ll have to go that route I suspect Bluebelle .

I did go on one practices waiting list and I’m still waiting after 15 months.

I should have gone on a dozen lol ! I

Is there an emergency dental service for 'out of hours', evenings and weekends for your local area. They will usually do a temporary measure which in your case could be the antibiotics.

Hi nana
If you do have an abscess it should be treated with antibiotics sooner rather than later.

Theres a dental hospital in our nearest big city that deals with emergencies for a large area. Not sure how far you are from a large town/city n&g, may be worth a look. My sympathies, it’s a painful thing.

Thanks all, I’ll and get to see an emergency dentist ASAP . Currently some very good anti inflammatories I brought back from the states seem to reduce the swelling a lot so hopefully I can get through to Monday .

I had the same problem a few years ago, when we first moved here. I went to the walk in centre, and was told to phone 111 , I then had an appointment made for a few hours later with a dentist at the same walk in centre , and was prescribed antibiotics, hope that you can get it sorted out very soon , abscesses are so painful.

Oh Ouch! Hope that you have some luck in finding a service and practice that can help you via the advice above. Toothache is horrible.