By James Vukmirovic

Copyright expressandstar

As part of the government’s rollout of 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments across the country, more than 14,000 appointments have been made available in the Black Country.

These urgent appointments are for people experiencing serious dental problems such as severe toothache: persistent and intense pain that cannot be managed with over-the counter painkillers, dental abscesses, uncontrolled bleeding, swelling, fractured, loose or displaced fillings causing pain, bleeding gums requiring urgent treatment for acute conditions and other treatments may be available at the discretion of the dentist.

The Black Country ICB has asked for people who need an urgent dental appointment to visit NHS 111 online or call 111 and ask that they do not contact their GP practice, as they will not be able to offer emergency or out-of-hours dental care.

Sarb Basi, Director of Primary, Black Country ICB said: “We know how important it is for local people to be able to access urgent dental care when they need it.

“That’s why we’re pleased to make thousands of extra appointments available across the Black Country.

“These slots are specifically for urgent dental problems, and you don’t need to be registered with an NHS dentist.

“At the same time, we’re continuing to work on improving access to routine NHS dental care and supporting the dental workforce, so that people across the region can get the right care when they need it.”