As specialists in telephone and web-based health advice and information, NHS Direct has developed a new and expanded range of services for 2006/2007, to better support other NHS organisations in providing improved health care for their patients. NHS Direct currently provides dental health information, self-care advice and details of local dental services over the telephone and on the NHS Direct Online website (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk). In addition, they have now developed a range of enhanced dental services which Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) can choose to commission to meet their local dental service requirements. These include out of hours dental nurse assessment, advice on pain management and the prioritisation of dental calls with referral to urgent dental health services where appropriate.

NHS Direct Director of Service Development Paul Jenkins said, 'We recognise that PCTs face a challenging agenda with the introduction of the new dental contract. A key aspect of this is the new responsibility for out of hours and emergency dental provision.' To enable PCTs, Hospital Trusts and other NHS health professionals to find out more, NHS Direct has organised a number of events to be held across the country in January and February 2006, to explain the new services in more detail.