Bristol Dental School

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Dental treatment

Information for dental practitioners and patients about treatment offered by the school.

Information for dental practitioners

Bristol Dental School has established a clinical dental facility with a sole purpose to support dental education. We do not hold an NHS contract to deliver dental services, however we may accept a limited number of patients to support the delivery of dental education.

Treatment needs must meet the training requirements of undergraduate student training for dentists or hygiene/therapy students. Recruitment for patients will be on that basis only. This means that some types of dental treatment may not be provided at the new dental school. We have published a patient acceptance criteria.

We are unable to accept walk-in patients, or offer a specialist advice service to practitioners.

Acceptance criteria

Current status of acceptance:

Patient acceptance criteria.

Shared care principles

The aim of the new school is to focus on clinical training for dental undergraduates to meet the standards set out by the GDC learning outcomes. In the undergraduate training pathway, there is a delicate balance between provision of dental health care and the achievement of sufficient clinical technical experience to support the learning outcomes.

Bristol Dental School does not hold a formal NHS provider contract for the delivery of dental healthcare. This provides the dental school with the flexibility to explore different models of patient recruitment to not only facilitate patient access for treatment but also supports the requirements of the stages for undergraduate clinical training and experience.

We are keen to work with colleagues in Primary Dental Care on our concept of shared care, looking to optimise the undergraduate experience, the patient experience and strengthened collaboration with general practice. We have been supported by Avon Local Dental Committee to provide information on our student requirements and share our patient acceptance criteria.

Information for patients

Bristol Dental School is a clinical training and education facility. We do not hold an NHS contract to deliver dental services, however we may accept a limited number of patients to support the delivery of dental education.

Treatment needs must meet the training requirements of undergraduate student training for dentists or hygiene/therapy students. Recruitment for patients will be on that basis only. This means that some types of dental treatment may not be provided at the new dental school (such as tooth whitening or other aesthetic treatments).

How to become a patient

If you would like to volunteer, you will first require an assessment to allow us to determine whether you have treatment needs suitable for our students.   

Please note: we are no longer seeking expressions of interest for treatment, we are likely to be able to accept new self-referrals towards the end of the summer 2025.

For patients who have already expressed an interest in treatment, we are in the process of arranging assessment appointments. If you meet our acceptance criteria you will be offered an appointment with students. It is important to note that until you have had you are accepted for treatment and have had your first appointment, if you have a dental emergency you will need to contact NHS111. Our students are undergoing clinical training under supervision of qualified members of staff, appointment times may be long and appointment availability is based on the student timetable. 

You must only attend Bristol Dental School if you have a pre-booked appointment. We are unable to see or treat walk-in patients, or patients out of hours. For access to emergency dental services please contact NHS 111.

Please note that we do not allow electric scooters into the building.

If you have any questions, please contact our patient administrators:
Email: student-treatments@bristol.ac.uk
Phone: 0117 374 6647

Opening hours

Our telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8:30 - 16:30 hrs. The Dental School is closed on weekends and bank holidays.

If you need emergency treatment whilst the Dental School is closed, or if you are not one of our patients and do not have a dentist, please contact NHS 111.

We do not usually operate outside of term times or during assessment periods. Our usual term time opening hours are:

  • Monday 9 am to 5 pm
  • Tuesday 9 am to 5 pm
  • Wednesday 9 am to 12:30 pm
  • Thursday 9 am to 5 pm
  • Friday 9 am to 5 pm

Policies and patient leaflets

Patient Access and Failure to Attend Policy

Due to high demands on Dentistry, and the needs of our students, failure to keep appointments may result in a patient being taken off the waiting list and treatment provided by Bristol Dental School being discontinued.

For more information please read the full policy at the following link: Failure to Attend Policy (PDF, 41kB)

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