My dentist wrote to me today saying that the practise will be closed until late July and rescheduling an appointment then. How they know it's late July is a question I'll leave for another day, however I wrote back asking what the procedure would be for any dental emergencies before then?
They replied that basically they're locked down under government order, so cannot give any face to face consultations, however they'll give a telephone consultation (backed up by patient photos if possible!), and can prescribe analgesics and antibiotics. For genuine emergencies they can refer to an "Emergency Treatment Centre", the nearest of which is thirty miles away, but only if there's facial swelling, uncontrollable bleeding, or pain that can't be mediated even after multiple courses of antibiotics! As they themselves acknowledged, it's all "far from ideal"!
I guess for the next few months I'll brush and floss with special care, and absolutely avoid opening beer bottles with my teeth or indeed any of those toffees that are so sticky that they can pull out your fillings!
Might be worth everyone taking a moment to think about how they can reduce their own chances of needing any dental work during lockdown.
Good luck!