Celebrating National Dentists' Day
Today (Friday 6 March) we're shining a light on why dental care matters. Our Specialist Dental Service works with vulnerable people who have complex needs, using specialist skills, adapted equipment and creative approaches to make sure no one is held back from receiving the treatment they need.
NHFT's Specialist Dental Service cares for adults and children in Northamptonshire who face barriers to dental treatment and struggle to access dental treatment in a general dental practice. Our Special Care Dentistry has specialist equipment, including a dental chair for bariatric patients that can take up 73 stone. The team specialises in treating patients with learning difficulties, mental illness, dementia and other health issues. They support people who may have difficulties communicating pain, making informed decisions and attending appointments.
One of our Specialists in Special Care Dentistry, Neil Martin, recently won a Lifetime Achievement award at our 2025 Quality Awards for his dedication to patients' oral health and Neil says that the whole team deserves the award:
I'm very proud of the whole team of our Special Care Dentistry service. The whole team is involved, and I really feel we improve people's lives and make a difference to people.
Watch: Neil talking about our Special Care Dentistry service
New approaches to improve access to dental care
NHFT's Specialist Dental Service has several clinics across Northamptonshire, including St James Dental Clinic which is pioneering new ways of working to provide faster, more accessible care for patients with complex needs. Patients receive personalised support, including fillings, extractions, gum treatments, sedation, behavioural assistance and home visits when needed. The clinic is reducing delays by using multi disciplinary teams, focused oral health promotion and more efficient referral pathways that help patients access treatment more quickly. These changes are already improving patient experience, with waiting times for assessment and treatment reducing in recent months.
Building on the progress made at St James, the same approach is being introduced across our other specialist dentistry sites. This is making a real difference to people's dental health across the county and ensuring that more people in Northamptonshire can access the care they need, when they need it.
Thank you to all our dental colleagues for making a difference.
Find out more about the Specialist Dental Service here: www.nhft.nhs.uk/dental