Three County Durham dentists accepting new patients for routine care

While numerous dental practices operate across the city and surrounding areas, the majority are only accepting new patients for urgent care or specialist referrals, leaving those seeking routine dental check-ups with limited options.

Full NHS Patient Access

Only one practice within 8 miles of Durham city centre is currently accepting all types of new NHS patients for routine care:

• Mydentist, Clifford Road, Stanley (1a Clifford Road, Stanley, Co Durham, DH9 0AB, 01207 235400) - accepts children aged 17 or under, adults 18 or over, and adults entitled to free dental care

Two additional mydentist locations further afield also accept all categories of NHS patients:

• Mydentist, Neale Terrace, Birtley (4 Neale Terrace, Chester Le Street, DH3 1LR, 0191 410 2453)
• Mydentist, Yoden Way, Peterlee (30 Yoden Way, Peterlee, Durham, SR8 1AL, 0191 586 2918)

Children's Dental Services

Several practices across County Durham are accepting new NHS patients under 18 for routine care:

• Burgess & Hyder, Esh Winning (2 Station View, Esh Winning, DH7 9HW, 0191 373 9052)
• Ridgway Dental Ltd, Chester-le-Street (17 South Burns, Chester Le Street, Co Durham, DH3 3EZ, 0191 388 2939)
• Wheatley Hill Dental Surgery (6 The Avenue, Wheatley Hill, Durham, DH6 3NT, 01429 820308)
• Honour Health Stanley (13-15 Front Street, Co Durham, Stanley, Durham, DH9 0JE, 01207 232725)
• Deneholme Dental Practice, Birtley (Durham Road North, Birtley, Chester Le Street, Co Durham, DH3 1LE, 0191 410 3897)
• Eden Villas Dental Practice, Washington (6 Eden Villas, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 7EJ, 0191 417 7112)
• Brown's Dental Surgery, Washington (Galleries Health Centre, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 7NQ, 0191 417 1264)

Urgent Care Options

Residents requiring urgent dental treatment have significantly more options within Durham city centre:

• Claypath Dental Practice (71 Claypath, Durham, Durham, DH1 1QT, 0191 386 5375)
• Kingsgate Dental Surgery (29a Church Street, Durham, Co Durham, DH1 3DG, 0191 384 7782)
• Elvet Dental Practice (18 Old Elvet, Durham, Durham, DH1 3HL, 0191 384 8231)
• Bupa Dental Care Durham (2a Maynards Row, Gilesgate, Durham, Durham, DH1 1QF, 0191 384 4433)

Patients are advised to phone ahead to confirm how quickly they can be seen and what services the practice can provide.

Many practices that offer urgent care have not confirmed whether they accept new NHS patients for routine appointments, meaning residents would need to contact individual surgeries to enquire.

Specialist Referral Services

Four orthodontic practices in the Durham area accept NHS patients, but only through specialist referral from another dentist:

• Dunelm Orthodontics (The Crossgate Centre, Alexandria Crescent, Durham City, Durham, DH1 4HF, 0191 375 7522)
• Falchion Orthodontics Ltd (Harrison House, Hawthorn Terrace, Durham, DH1 4EL, 0191 814 2352)
• Cestria Dental Practice, Chester-le-Street (6-8 High Chare, Chester Le Street, Durham, DH3 3PX, 0191 388 3389)
• Queensway Orthodontics, Bishop Auckland (10 Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7EH, 01388 433699)
• Queensway Orthodontics, Washington (The Elms, Front Street, Concord, Washington, NE37 2BA, 0191 500 3545)

What Patients Should Do

The NHS recommends that patients seeking routine dental care contact practices directly to confirm current availability.

Several surgeries including Dencall on North Road, Framwellgate Dental Surgery Limited on Front Street, and IDH Limited on Dragon Lane have not confirmed their status for routine NHS patients, meaning availability could change.

Patients struggling to find an NHS dentist can contact NHS 111 for advice on accessing dental services.

Those experiencing dental emergencies should phone their nearest urgent care practice, which will assess the situation and provide guidance on how quickly treatment can be arranged.