More than 4,500 people have expressed an interest in an appointment at a new NHS dental practice opening soon in Crewkerne.
NHS Somerset, the local headquarters for the NHS, is working with DentistryForYou to open Crewkerne Dental Care. The new practice, located at 22 Market Street in the town centre, will be offering NHS and private appointments.
Crewkerne was chosen for the new practice as one of the areas of the county where more NHS appointments are most needed. The new practice is due to open in late May 2026, with an exact date to be confirmed.
An online portal where people could express an interest in an appointment, along with a phone number for people who could not use the internet, was opened on the morning of Wednesday 22 April, following local communications.
As expected, interest in the new practice was high, and more than 4,500 expressions of interest were received during the course of the day. Initial data shows that about 75% of those came from Crewkerne and surrounding postcodes. To ensure patient safety and fairness, DentistryForYou has paused the expression of interest facility for now, but the firm hopes to reopen it in due course.
Dr Bernie Marden, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Somerset, said: “I’m pleased to say that three quarters of the people expressing an interest came from the Crewkerne area and surrounding postcodes. This practice on its own won’t solve all the issues facing local people, but it is great news for the town and will help thousands more people access NHS dental care.
“The Crewkerne practice is the third we have opened in Somerset in recent months, and the new facilities are part of a range of measures to improve access to NHS dentistry in Somerset. Together, the three practices should mean about 20,000 more people get to access NHS dental care in the county.”
NHS Somerset is commissioning 15,500 ‘units of dental activity’ (UDAs) per year from the Crewkerne practice. Under national NHS rules, UDAs are used to pay high street dentists, which are independent private businesses.
DentistryForYou Group Manager Elizabeth Fernandez added: “We are looking forward to welcoming patients to the new practice in Crewkerne. Interest has been high and we have to limit expressions of interest to ensure that numbers do not exceed capacity. Once the practice is established, we hope to be able to reopen the opportunity for people to express an interest and we will work with NHS Somerset and other local partners to keep people up to date.”
The practice will not be accepting in-person registrations at the premises.
All patients who successfully completed the expression of interest form should have received a message confirming practice staff will be in contact in coming months to arrange a first appointment.
Unlike GP surgeries, NHS dental practices don’t operate a system of permanent registration. Instead, patients are seen for a specific course of treatment, and, technically speaking, once that treatment is complete, the arrangement with the dentist comes to an end. This means patients aren’t automatically entitled to ongoing care with the same dentist or practice, however, many patients do return to the same practice for future courses of treatment over a period of many years. Under national NHS regulations, dental practices cannot impose geographical limits on patient access.
