Healthy teeth and gums, and a mouth free from disease, are important. Everyone should therefore expect to be able to access good quality NHS dental services at a reasonable cost.
Finding an NHS dentist
Whether you need urgent treatment or just a check-up, if you're having difficulty finding an NHS dentist, you can call the dental access helpline for your local primary care trust (PCT). In addition you can also:
- Use the Find and choose services option on this site and do a postcode search for local dentists. You can also search for your local PCT to find the number of the dental access helpline.
- Text 'dentist' to 64746 or 'NHSGO' from your mobile phone. We’ll send you up to three text messages with the results that are nearest to your location from the area where you need a dentist. Learn more about NHS Choices mobile.
- Or call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
Shortages of NHS dental care exist in some places but NHS services are growing steadily and there is a continued NHS commitment to improving access.
Independent patient survey figures published by the Department of Health in December 2010 show that, nationally, 59% of adults tried to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years, and of these 93% were successful. The success rate was higher for shorter periods: 96% for 3 or 6 months; and 95% for 12 months.
Rate and comment on dental services
When you find the information on dentists in your area, you can read what other practice users have said about them. You can use the Rate and comment on a dentist option to record your own opinions about the treatment you received.
General dental treatment
Most dentists provide both NHS and private treatment. The advantage of this is that you can have work that you need to keep your teeth healthy on the NHS, and cosmetic work privately, without having to go to two different dentists. However, sometimes it can be difficult to understand which elements of your treatment are provided by the NHS and which elements you need to pay for privately.
When you see your dentist for a Band 2 or 3 dental treatment, you'll be given a personal dental treatment plan (PDF, 19kb) that outlines all the treatments you are having on the NHS and how much it will cost.
Simpler charging
You can have all your dental treatment provided under the NHS that your dentist feels is clinically necessary in order to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy. If your dentist says you need a particular type of treatment, you should not be asked to pay for it privately.
There are three standard charges for all NHS dental treatments. This makes it easier to know how much you may need to pay and also helps to ensure that you are being charged for NHS care (rather than private care).
- the maximum charge for a complex course of treatment (Band 3) is £204
- most courses of treatment (Band 1 and 2) cost £17.00 or £47.00
For detailed information about each band read the NHS dental treatments section.
You receive free NHS dental treatment if you meet the exemption criteria. For more information see our Help with dental costs section.
Out-of-hours dental treatment
Dental practices are normally open during the daytime and often at weekends. If a problem occurs outside of these hours, you may need to be seen urgently. If you are in discomfort, you can try helping yourself first by taking pain medication. You can call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 for advice on treating yourself if the problem can wait until normal practice hours.
If your problem is more urgent, you can access out-of-hours dental services in your area by telephoning:
- your practice, who should have an answerphone message with details of how to access treatment out of hours
- your local PCT’s helpline
- NHS Direct
If you are in severe pain, are bleeding a lot, have a major head injury or concussion, you should go to the accident and emergency department of your local hospital.
Complaining about dental services
If you wish to make a complaint about the care or service provided by your dentist or dentists' surgery, contact the person responsible for the practice complaints procedure. Your dentist will try to resolve your complaint.
If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Further information about making a complaint is available from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), your local Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) and the Department of Health website. You can also visit the NHS complaints section on this site.
If you wish to make a complaint about private dental services, contact the General Dental Council on 08456 120 540 or email complaints@gdc-uk.org.
