Dentists: Emergency hubs open to most serious cases during lockdown

• Video report by ITV News Meridian's Andy Dickenson

As lockdown rules mean dental surgeries still have no opening date, emergency dental hubs have opened to treat the most in pain.

Patients at these dental surgeries are greeted with hand sanitiser and a temperature check.

Colin Smith has been waiting to have his tooth removed since before the lockdown began.

He says: "I have gone through a lot of discomfort which has obviously brought me here. But obviously these guys in terms of the coronavirus, they're at risk."

Dentist Emmanuel Lazanakis says extra precautions are taken when treating patients during the pandemic.

He says: "All patients at this moment in time are presumed to be potential carriers of the coronavirus. So we're taking universal precautions to protect our staff and the patients from possible infection. We're very much overwhelmed by the demand there is."

With the vast majority of dentists closed during lockdown, emergency hubs are providing a lifeline, however they say with such high demand, they are already struggling.

Dental bodies are warning patients not to try their own DIY dentistry during lockdown, while some dentists say if they can't reopen soon, they may not reopen at all.