NHS urgent dental centres now open across North East and North Cumbria

All 23 NHS Urgent Dental Access Centres are now operating across North East and North Cumbria, and the network has seen more than 41,000 patients since the first pilot sites opened in 2024.

All 23 Urgent Dental Access Centres (UDACs) set up by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board are now open, following two pilot sites in 2024. The centres were created after the ICB took over local dental services from NHS England and developed a Primary Care Dental Access Recovery Plan. They provide urgent treatment for problems such as broken or knocked-out teeth, abscesses and loose crowns or fillings. Officials say the centres have treated tens of thousands of patients and that complaints about urgent access have fallen. Key points: - The ICB mapped a network of 23 UDACs across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham, the Tees Valley and parts of Cumbria, funded as a £9.5m programme. - Two pilot centres opened in Carlisle and Darlington in 2024; the final centre in the current rollout opened in Newcastle in November. - The centres have seen more than 41,000 patients since the pilots began and the network offers almost 109,000 urgent dental appointments a year. - The government has published broader dentistry reforms, with plans for a modernised NHS dental contract announced to take effect from April. Summary: The UDAC network provides a regional route for people needing urgent dental treatment and has increased immediate appointment capacity across the area. The ICB reports fewer urgent-access complaints, and national contract reforms are scheduled to come into effect from April.