Dental (Special Care and Community Dental Service)

Our service can help you if:

• you have dental fear or anxiety
• you find it difficult to access a dentist because you use a wheelchair
• you’re housebound or have mobility problems
• you’ve got complex medical problems that affect your dental health
• you’ve got learning difficulties or behavioural problems that make it hard to cope with routine dentist appointments

We may also be able to help you if have a dental emergency and your normal dentist is closed or you’re not registered with a dentist, if you are suffering from:

• bleeding or injury after having a tooth removed
• a broken tooth
• facial swelling
• severe toothache

Please follow the instructions in the next section about making emergency appointments.

Useful information about NHS dentistry and oral health update

Parents guide to dental care 

Advice for parents of children with Autism

Link to Easy Read website

Emergency dental treatments

When you call one of the numbers below, you’ll speak to a trained adviser and answer some questions about your symptoms. Depending on your situation you’ll:

• find out what local service can help you
• be connected to an emergency dentist
• get an appointment if you need one
• be told how to get any medicine you need
• get self-care advice

North Cumbria: 01228 603900 - Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm

South Cumbria: 0300 1243 010 - Monday to Friday 8.00am 9.00pm 

Weekends and Bank Holidays 10am 5pm

If you need help outside of these hours you call NHS 111.

Special care dental treatments

When you’re referred to our service, we’ll contact you to discuss your needs. If you or your child is offered an appointment, we’ll go through your options and together we’ll decide on the best treatment plan for you.

If you or your child suffers from dental fear or anxiety and needs sedation, this may be done with tablets, gas and air or by using an intravenous (IV) sedation.

IV sedation is when a sedative is given through an injection into your hand or arm. The drugs won’t send you to sleep but you’ll feel calm and relaxed. You’ll be able to talk to the dentist but you probably won’t remember much of what happened.

We may offer you or child a general anaesthetic. You can read more about general anaesthesia here.

Once your course of treatment is completed, you’ll be discharged back to your own dentist. If you have ongoing or specific needs, you may continue to receive your dental care from us.

Click here for link to our satisfaction survey

Carlisle Dental Centre

01228 608199

Workington Community Hospital

West Cumberland Hospital, Outpatients Dental Clinic

Cleator Moor Health Centre

01946 853342

Westmorland General Hospital

01539 739764