Finding a dentist and caring for teeth
Dental care advice and tips as well as getting the right support at the dentist from NHS Sussex Health and Care.
Find an NHS dentist near you
If you or someone you care for has additional or special care needs, you should be able to get NHS dental care from a general dental practice.
How to find an NHS dentist - NHS (external link)If you need specialised treatment, your dental healthcare professional may refer you to Special Care Dentistry.
Urgent dental care
If you need urgent dental help and cannot find a dentist, the Sussex Dental Helpline can book you an urgent appointment with an NHS dentist.
- Phone: 0300 123 1663 (open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm)
- Email: kcht.dentalhelpdesk@nhs.net
Support to help you access dental care
Health and care passports
A health and care passport helps dentists and other healthcare staff understand your needs or those of your child. Find out more about completing a health and care passport.
SEND specialist dental care
There are teams of dentists, dental therapists and dental nurses who provide a service for children and adults who are unable to access general dental practice.
Referral to these services must be made by a healthcare professional. This may include GPs, dentists, school nurses and community and specialist nurses.
Find out more about the services offered by the Special Care Dental Centres from the NHS.
Support with diet and tooth care
Many young people with SEND have sensory difficulties in their diet as well as with regular toothbrushing routines, toothbrushes and toothpaste at home.
Other resources
- Going to the dentist
- Oral health
- Advice and support for families of young autistic children to care for their teeth
- Oral care and people with learning disabilities
- Information film about brushing your teeth and those of others
- How to care for the teeth of children aged 0 to 3 information film
- Dr Ranj healthy teeth guide aged 3 to 6 information film
- How to care for the teeth children aged 7+ information film
- Quit smoking
Mobile phone apps to support brushing and tooth care
There are many apps available. Appearing on this page does not mean that any of these apps are recommended. Some of the apps available are:
- Brush DJ is an app that plays music for 2 minutes while you brush your teeth, to help prevent gum disease and tooth decay
- Oral-B has an app you use with a Bluetooth enabled Oral-B toothbrush to brush your teeth and keep track of your teeth cleaning habits
- Colgate’s apps learn from how you brush and give you personalised tips to help you brush better
- NHS food scanner is an app that shows you how much fat, sugar and salt is inside the food you want to eat