Getting NHS dental care
What NHS dental treatment costs, whether you pay at all, and how to actually get seen in St Austell — including the urgent route when you're in pain.
Getting an NHS dentist in Cornwall is genuinely hard right now — most practices are not taking new NHS patients, and waits can be long. This page can't hand you an appointment, but it can tell you what NHS dental care costs, whether you have to pay at all, and the routes that still work — including what to do when you're in pain.
What will it cost?
Whole groups of people get NHS dental treatment free. Tap anything that applies to you.
Tap an option above to see whether you pay.
NHS dental charges (2025/26)
| Band | What it covers | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | A check-up, advice, X-rays, a scale and polish if you need one, and planning any further treatment. | £27.90 |
| Band 2 | Everything in Band 1, plus fillings, root canal work and having teeth taken out. | £76.60 |
| Band 3 | Everything in Bands 1 and 2, plus crowns, dentures and bridges. | £332.10 |
| Urgent | One urgent course of treatment to stop pain or deal with a problem — for example an emergency filling or an extraction. | £27.90 |
One charge covers a whole course of treatment — every appointment and every item needed to finish it, not each filling.
How to get seen
Step 1: Find a practice taking NHS patients
The NHS 'Find a dentist' service lists every practice near you and whether each one says it's currently taking new NHS patients — adults, children, or only in an emergency. The lists change, so it's worth calling a practice to check before you set out.
- NHS — Find a dentist — search by postcode; filter for practices taking NHS patients
Step 2: If none are taking patients, join the waiting lists and keep checking
Practices open and close their NHS lists as their capacity changes, so it's worth asking each one to add you and checking back every few weeks. NHS Cornwall also runs a mobile dental van (operated by Smile Together) that visits communities for people on the NHS dental waiting list — being on a list is how you get invited when it comes near.
Step 3: In pain, swelling or bleeding? Get urgent dental care
You do not need to be registered with a dentist for urgent care, and you don't need a referral. Call NHS 111 or Cornwall's urgent dental line and you'll be assessed and given an urgent appointment if you need one. Call 999 only if swelling is affecting your breathing or swallowing, or after a serious injury to the mouth or face.
NHS 111
- Phone
- 111
- Hours
- 24 hours — assesses urgent dental problems and books you in
Smile Together — urgent dental care
- Phone
- 0333 405 0290
- Hours
- Cornwall & Isles of Scilly urgent/emergency dental service; you can refer yourself
Step 4: Community & special-care dentistry
Smile Together provides NHS community dental care from St Austell Community Hospital for people who can't be treated in an ordinary practice — for example because of a disability, severe anxiety or a medical condition. Access is by referral, so ask your GP, dentist or health worker to refer you.
St Austell Community Hospital (Smile Together)
- Hours
- NHS community & special-care dentistry — referral needed
Step 5: If you can't wait: paying privately
If you can't get an NHS appointment and can't wait, private dental care or a monthly dental plan is an option. Prices are set by the practice, not the NHS, so ask for the cost in writing before you agree to treatment.
A few things worth knowing
- NHS charges are per course of treatment, not per item — one Band 2 charge covers all the fillings a course needs.
- You do not "register" with an NHS dentist the way you do a GP. A practice takes you on for a course of treatment; there is no permanent list you join.
- Finding a practice taking new NHS patients is genuinely hard right now — this page cannot change that, but the urgent line and the community dental route below still work.
- For a dental emergency — bad pain, swelling, bleeding that will not stop — call NHS 111; they can arrange an urgent appointment. Call 999 only if swelling is affecting your breathing or swallowing, or after a serious injury.
The official pages
- Which practices are taking NHS patients
- NHS — Find a dentist
- The charge bands, in full
- NHS — How much NHS dental treatment costs
- Full list of who pays nothing
- NHS — Who can get free NHS dental treatment
- Cornwall's NHS urgent, community & special-care dental service
- Smile Together Dental
Source: NHS dental charges & eligibility (nhs.uk, 2025/26); Cornwall urgent, community & mobile dental service (Smile Together / NHS Cornwall & Isles of Scilly ICB), checked 16 July 2026 (2 weeks ago).