We have a limited number of spaces for volunteers to receive free dental treatment.
The University Dental Hospital of Manchester has a limited number of places available for adult volunteers for treatment, by our Dentistry and Dental Hygiene and Therapy students, as part of their supervised clinical education.
If you are not registered with a dentist, you may be eligible to volunteer. To access this service you will have to register your interest, have a clinical assessment and meet certain criteria.
As our students can provide only a limited range of treatments, volunteers will need to undergo a short assessment. One of our tutors will speak to you about what is expected of student treatment and will carry out a brief assessment of your dental needs to see if you are a suitable candidate, or whether your needs would be better managed by a General Dental Practitioner. This is not a regular dental check-up and is not a comprehensive dental assessment. Following this we will explain if you are suitable to be a volunteer, or not.
Some patients’ treatment needs are too complex for our students and it is possible that you may be declined at this stage. If you are accepted you will be placed on a waiting list for one course of treatment. The length of time waiting will depend on the type and complexity of treatment required. During that time, you will still need to have dental check-ups or emergency dental treatment elsewhere, if you need it. Once the course of treatment is completed, you will be discharged.
Treatment is provided free of charge.
As this is a popular service, we sometimes need to close the waiting list to any new volunteer patients and we apologise if we are unable to help you.
If you would like to register your interest, you must be:
- 18 years old or over
- Not registered with a dentist already
- Available to attend appointments between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday
The volunteer patient is not for patients requiring emergency or urgent dental care, if you require urgent attention from a dentist, please contact your own dentist or NHS 111.