Alston Dental Surgery

26/05/2026

⚠️IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION MESSAGE ⚠️From Thursday 28th May for one week the practice phone or emails will not be answered as our practice manager will be on annual leave.
If your enquiry is urgent, please leave a message on our answer machine and someone will get back to you. Otherwise for routine queries please phone after Thursday 4th June.
For emergency dental treatment please call NHS 111 or use your DPAS or Denplan helpline number if you are a monthly plan patient.
All appointments scheduled to take place this week and next will still go ahead with our team as planned. This is just in regards to communication.
We are a small independent practice and we thank all of our patients for your support and understanding.

25/05/2026

We have recently had a much higher rate of NHS patients failing to attend their scheduled appointments (especially children not being brought to their appointments) and late notice cancellations.
As per our practice policy; if you have two failure to attend appointments then you will be de-registered as an NHS patient. You must give at least 24 hours notice if you are unable to attend - by telephoning the practice and leaving a voicemail (you can do this 24/7). Unfortunately, we are still unable to take on new patients as our NHS funding has not been increased for the last few years. Please help us by not wasting precious surgery time. As a small independent practice, this can cost us dearly. Thankyou! 🦷

When millions are struggling to access care NHS practices are left paying the price for no-shows.

12/05/2026

❤️ Heart disease 💉 Diabetes 🧠 Dementia...
🦷 The links between oral health and general health are frightening.

Oral health begins at home... even if you unfortunately don't have a dentist right now... prevention is everything! 🪥

Scientists are discovering more and more associations between poor oral health and everything from heart disease to dementia. But can flossing and brushing properly guarantee a longer life?

03/05/2026

Thankyou to Brampton primary school for our wonderful feedback! 🦷

30/04/2026

I am resharing some important information regarding our practice policy concerning missed appointments and short notice cancellations for all of our patients.

Your NHS patient status could be at risk if you do not follow our terms and conditions.

Please always let us know (where possible with at least 48 hours notice) by phone or email if you are unable to attend your scheduled appointment so it can be used for another patient in need.

Thankyou
Anna Hodgson, DCP Practice Manager

30/04/2026

Can't reach us by phone during working hours?!
Leave a voicemail message or email [email protected]. Thanks!

30/04/2026

CHANGE IN OPENING HOURS - Effective immediately; please note that from today (30th April 2026) our last appointment will be 3.40pm (This includes children's check ups).

We are sorry to do this and know it's frustrating for parents to have to possibly bring children during school time but we have had so many fail to attends and late notice cancellations that we have no other choice. Please know - it's usually possible to schedule routine appointments during school holidays.

Our staff need adequate clean down time to process dental instruments and adhere to cross infection protocols at the end of the day.

All appointments that are currently booked will still stand but going forward these changes will be effective immediately.

As always thankyou to our patients for your patience and understanding.

28/04/2026

Sorry our phone will not be answered until 10.30 due to staff meeting.

31/03/2026

On Thursday 26th March we visited Brampton Primary School where we held an assembly to talk to the children about the importance of good oral hygiene.
Anna and Julie talked to all of the children about how important it is to keep your teeth and gums super healthy (as modelled by our lovely horsey!) We also talked about good and bad foods and which of our favourite drinks contain the most sugar! 🍭
We made the children feel better about visiting the dentist and talked about Tabitha the tooth fairy 🧚🏻
We had a really fun morning and we hope the children enjoyed it as much as we did!

26/03/2026

The practice is closed today on Thursday 26th March as we deliver our NHS oral health education and prevention programme to Brampton Primary School.
Unfortunately, our phones will not be answered but you can leave a message and we'll get back to you on our return.
For all dental emergencies that cannot wait until next week please call NHS 111.
Thanks for your understanding. 🦷 🍏🍊🍋🍇🍓