Watford

What should I do if a dentist is no longer accepting new patients?

NHS dentists are required by the NHS to indicate on their NHS profile on the NHS website if they are accepting new NHS patients. We check the NHS website daily to see which dentists are accepting new NHS patients.

If you have searched for dentists near you accepting new NHS patients, and a dentist on your list tells you they are not currently accepting new patients, then please politely ask them to update and correct their NHS profile online.

We will then automatically detect the change within 24-48 hours. There is no need to contact us to let us know.

You can try calling the next practice on your list, or checking the practices on your list that started accepting new patients within the last two weeks.

Daily and weekly quotas

Some NHS dental practices are currently required by the NHS to keep their status permanently set to “accepting new patients” even after their so-called “quota” of new patients has already been met. If you think it would be more useful for these practices to update their status once they have met their quota then please contact NHS England to let them know.

Help make Dental Choices better

Currently Dental Choices uses data self-reported by practices (via the NHS website), but we think user corrections and updates might be more helpful. See our GoFundMe for more details and how to help.

Can’t find an NHS dentist near you?

Find out what to do if you cannot find an NHS dentist taking on new patients.

You might also be interested in some of our popular dental guides and FAQ:

• Why can’t I find an NHS dentist to register with?
• Should I switch to a bamboo toothbrush?
• Which electric toothbrush should I buy?
• How to register with an NHS dentist
• What should I do if I cannot register with a dentist?
• How much does NHS dental treatment cost?
• Tooth decay – how to prevent and treat tooth decay at home
• Gum disease – how to prevent and treat gingivitis at home
• Wisdom teeth – pain, problems, extractions and crowding
• Which drinks are tooth-kind? and which are tooth-cruel?