I received the following by email. It may be helpful for some.
The tldr version is to try to get antibiotics if you have a problem, and put up with it if possible, as the likely treatment at an urgent care centre is extraction. Essentially, dental care has gone backwards 500 years at the moment.
"I think that you will find that all dental practices are closed by order of Government. The reason is simply because Government has signally failed to provide proper PPE to practices, completely the opposite of what the Secretary of State for Health said about two weeks ago when he claimed that umpty gazillion pieces of PPE had been distributed to dental practices. On the basis of that claim I had two staff go to my practices to see if boxes had been left outside. It was a pointless gesture...
Care for patients in practice is current being offered by phone only on the basis of the three As; Assessment (by phone), Advice and Antibiotics (when appropriate). Practices are simply not seeing patients at all.
There have been Urgent Dental Care (UDC) centres set up at key places, mainly dental hospitals and clinics where full PPE is available. Patients who need treatment which cannot be done under the three As are referred by their practice to one of these centres where treatment is often extraction - no complex treatment, especially those which involve a water spray such as using the high speed drill, is done, with the staff dressed in full PPE.
As of the last couple of days, Government is currently giving out conflicting advice that dentists can open up using a lower level of protection PPE to do "simple" treatments, mainly smoothing broken edges and extractions and the like. Needless to say, the profession is not happy with this as it does leave them vulnerable to the lurgy to a degree and it remains to be seen if practices do open up. My practices will not be, I have a responsibility for nearly 20 personnel and I am not prepared to risk them given that some of them have small children. All the staff have been furloughed and only the dentists are on call to give advice by phone.
If you have a problem, you should, in the first instance, ring your regular dentist who will triage your problem. All dentists should have someone who can take calls during working hours who may refer you to a UDC for treatment should you need it, er, urgently. Outside of those hours, you should ring 111 who may also refer you to a UDC.
I'm sorry if this sounds a little bleak but it's a fact and that's the way it is. No-one is enjoying the current situation and we all hope and pray that this situation comes to an end sooner rather than later and dentists can return to looking after their patients properly."