How our services work

NHS England defines stabilisation as undertaking any appropriate treatment to, in the opinion of the dentist, stabilise a patient’s oral health so it is unlikely for existing dental issue/s to cause an urgent or emergency dental need, or to have significant other health detriment, within the following twelve months.  

This service aims to provide one course of treatment to ‘stabilise’ oral health. Our NHS stabilisation clinics are delivered by qualified clinicians in our Plymouth and Exeter facilities. Referrals for this are received via NHS 111, following urgent care at PDSE, or self-registration on our PDSE website when open. Treatment delivered by our qualified clinicians are subject to standard NHS Dental charges. Once all stabilisation treatment has been completed, patients will be discharged from PDSE and will be required to continue care with their own chosen provider. 

Our Minor Oral Surgery clinic is provided by our Oral Surgery team in Plymouth and delivers more complex dental procedures, such as difficult tooth extractions, surgical removal of roots, and minor soft tissue procedures in the mouth. Treatment can only be accessed on referral from a Dentist and may be subject to standard NHS Dental charges. 

This service is delivered by qualified clinicians in our Plymouth facilities and provides dental care and treatment for Children who are under care with local authorities in the South West. External referrals for this clinic are received from Children in Care nurses and other healthcare professionals. 

PDSE works with The Health Inclusion Pathway, Plymouth (HIPP) to provide oral health services to people who are homeless and have complex and longstanding oral healthcare needs.  

Our HIPP clinics delivered by qualified clinicians operate in our Plymouth and Exeter facilities. This service aims to provide one course of treatment, for the patient to then be discharged. 

Referrals for our clinic in Plymouth are accepted from a number of community organisations associated with The Plymouth Alliance. The aim of The Plymouth Alliance is to coordinate a complex needs system which will enable people to be supported flexibly, receiving the right help, at the right time, in the right place. Find information on The Plymouth Alliance and associated organisations here. 

Referrals for our clinic in Exeter are only accepted from the Clock Tower GP Surgery. 

Treatment delivered by our qualified clinicians are subject to standard NHS Dental charges.  

Find out more about the services included in the Health Inclusion Pathway Plymouth here. 

Dental treatment is provided by Dental Students who work under the close supervision of qualified Dental Professionals called Clinical Supervisors. 

Adult patients must initially attend a triage appointment where dental needs will be assessed by a Dentist to confirm suitability for student treatment. Unfortunately, not all people are suitable for undergraduate care. Find out more information about triage appointments and our exclusion criteria here. Patients are triaged from multiple routes including: applying for our undergraduate clinics via self-registration on our PDSE website when the waiting lists open or via urgent care treatment if a further treatment need is identified. 

If accepted, patients are told which student cohort, location and treatment pathway is suitable for the treatment that they require. Treatment delivered through the undergraduate clinics are free of charge at the point of use and patients are expected to co-operate with attendance for the duration of their treatment. Further information relating to our attendance policy can be found here. 

Once all treatment has been completed, patients will be discharged from PDSE and will be required to continue care with their own chosen provider.

How is it different to visiting a dental practice?

As we are an educational environment, our clinics can often be very busy. Patients attending undergraduate student clinics at our Dental Educational Facilities are treated in a bay of 8 dental chairs and there will often be many people assisting with their dental care including students, supervisors, Dental Nurses, and occasionally other staff such as Dental Technicians who help with the provision of dentures. All of these staff are present to ensure patients receive high quality care in a safe environment.

These appointments will take longer than being treated in a dental practice and patients may need more appointments to complete their treatment. This is because the students are learning and so work slower than a qualified clinician would. Patients may need to be treated by more than one student and they may be asked to attend at more than one of our clinics to receive their treatment.

Can I choose which site I attend for my treatment?

If patients attend a triage appointment in either Exeter or Truro, their treatment will be carried out at the site that they attended the triage appointment. If a patient attends a triage appointment at either Derriford or Devonport, they may be asked to travel between both sites to meet the needs of students. Unfortunately, it is not possible for patients to choose which site they attend.

We often accept registrations for paediatric patients between the ages of 1 and 13, at each of our four Dental Education Facilities. Unlike our adult patients, children do not have to attend a triage appointment to assess suitability before being accepted and instead can be registered directly, providing there is availability and we are accepting new patients. Paediatric patients apply via self-registration on our PDSE website when open. 

Our paediatric clinics for children aged between 1 and 13 are delivered by our undergraduate students, under the supervision of qualified clinicians. When your child reaches the age of 13 and over, their dental care may be transferred from the student clinic to one of our qualified Dentists.  

Paediatric patients are discharged at the age of 16 and are advised to continue care with their own chosen provider. In event of a Child receiving orthodontic treatment (braces), they will remain under care of PDSE until the braces have been removed. 

Find out more information on our paediatric dental clinics here. 

Dental Nurses qualified in Oral Health Education and Fluoride Application deliver clinics across all of our facilities. Referrals are accepted from our student cohort and qualified clinicians and are only open to patients under the care of PDSE. These clinics also provide treatments on prescription such as fluoride application, toothbrushing and diet advice, help to quit smoking, impression taking and clinical photography. 

NHS charges may apply to some patients and will be discussed at the point of referral.