A digital service is set to launch in autumn 2024, which will centralise the process of accessing routine care through an NHS dentist for people across Wales.

The Dental Access Portal, piloted in Powys Teaching Health Board, will provide a central platform for health boards to allocate places for routine dental treatment at NHS dental practices across Wales. Digital Health and Care Wales designed and built the service, which will be rolled out nationally later in 2024.

Jeremy Miles, cabinet secretary for health and social care, said, “The portal will help patients in Powys avoid spending time calling around dental practices seeking an NHS dentist.

“This is one of many improvements we are making to improve access to NHS dental services, and I look forward to the portal being rolled out across Wales.”

There is significant variation between health board allocation of NHS dentist places, making it hard to measure the true level of demand both locally and nationally.

When the service is rolled out nationally, it will provide the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, and partner organisations with a clear picture of the scale of demand for NHS dental services. It will also mean patients living in every area of Wales will for the first time be able to use the service, making access to routine NHS dental care simpler and fairer for everyone.

To be eligible to apply, people must:

  • Be aged 16 or over (parents/guardians can apply for under 16s)
  • Not received routine dental treatment on the NHS in the last four years
  • Live at an address in Wales for more than six months of the year or attend a Welsh GP practice

Under the pilot in Powys, people already on a health board dental waiting list have been automatically added to the Dental Access Portal.

They will be prioritised based on when they joined the existing list and allowed to opt out, should they wish to do so by logging into the Dental Access Portal or by contacting their health board.

Patients who are not already on the Powys Teaching Health Board waiting list for routine NHS dental treatment will be invited to apply through the Dental Access Portal. Powys patients without digital access can continue to contact the health board’s dental helpline by phone.

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