Residents in the north of the Isle of Man will gain improved access to NHS dental care when a new service begins operating from Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital on Monday 9 November.

Manx Care has confirmed the dental unit will open on 9 November, after its launch was delayed by a week following minor storm-related damage to the building. The service will initially be delivered by a salaried dentist, providing additional NHS dental capacity for patients in the north of the island.

Appointments will initially be available to northern residents currently on the NHS dental waiting list, unregistered patients requiring emergency treatment, and Smile Dental patients needing urgent or emergency care while that practice resumes routine services.

Patients on the NHS dental waiting list who are eligible for appointments at the new clinic will be contacted by Manx Care and do not need to get in touch with the service themselves.

A Manx Care spokesperson said the opening of the dental unit in Ramsey would provide additional NHS dental capacity for the north and help support people currently waiting to access dental care. The spokesperson added that, although the opening had been delayed by damage during recent stormy weather, the service would now begin seeing patients from Monday 9 November.

The return of dental services to Ramsey was first announced in late October, when Manx Care said a dentist would begin seeing patients at the hospital from the week beginning 2 November. That date slipped by a week because of the storm damage.

The new service replaces and expands on the previous provision at Grove Mount Dental Practice, which stopped providing NHS dental services earlier this year. Manx Care has said the new arrangement will create capacity for more than 900 additional patients alongside transferring former Grove Mount patients.

[Source: manx.news](https://www.manx.news/norths-new-nhs-dental-service-opens-next-week/) | [Source: apexnews.com](https://www.apexnews.com/en/news/nhs-dental-services-to-return-to-ramsey-4f1fb3de261023en_zz)