As with glasses and prescription costs, you'll usually have to pay a contribution towards the cost of your NHS dental treatment if you're aged 18 or older.
The cost depends on the type of treatment and the cost band your treatment is covered by. If you're studying, pregnant, recently had a baby or get certain benefits, your treatment may be free.
With the exception of teeth whitening, implants and veneers, the treatments on this page are usually available on the NHS.
Always ask your dentist whether the treatment they're recommending is available on the NHS and how much it will cost before you go ahead.
Bridges
A bridge is a fixed replacement for a missing tooth or teeth. It's made by taking an impression of the surrounding teeth, which will eventually support the bridge.
A bridge is usually created from metal and porcelain, and will be fixed in your mouth (unlike dentures, which can be removed).
Crowns
A crown is a type of cap that completely covers a real tooth. It's usually made from metal, ceramic or porcelain fused to metal and is fixed in your mouth.
Crowns can be fitted where a tooth has broken, decayed or been damaged, or just to make a tooth look better.
To fit a crown, the old tooth will need to be shaped for the crown to be fixed on to.
It can take some time for the lab to prepare a new crown, so you'll probably get a temporary one until it's ready.
Fillings
Fillings are used to repair a hole in a tooth caused by decay. There are different types of filling, including or white fillings or amalgam (a mixture of mercury, silver, tin and copper).
Your dentist will offer the most appropriate type of filling according to your clinical needs.
Root canal treatment
Root canal treatment (also called endodontics) tackles infection at the centre of a tooth (pulp).
When the blood or nerve supply of the tooth has become infected, the infection will spread and the tooth may need to be taken out if root canal treatment is not carried out.
During treatment, all the infection is removed from inside the root canal system.
The root canal is filled and the tooth is sealed with a filling or crown to stop it becoming infected again.
Root canal treatment usually needs a few visits to your dentist.
Scale and polish
Scale and polish is where your teeth are cleaned by the hygienist. It involves carefully removing the plaque and tartar that build up on your teeth.
Braces
Braces (orthodontic treatment) straighten or move teeth to improve their appearance and how they work.
Braces can be removable, so you can take them out and clean them, or fixed, so they're stuck to your teeth and you cannot take them out.
They can be made of metal, plastic or ceramic. Invisible braces are made of a clear plastic.
Braces are available on the NHS for children and, occasionally, for adults, depending on the clinical need.
Wisdom tooth removal
Wisdom teeth grow at the back of your gums and are the last teeth to come through, usually between your late teens and mid-twenties.
Some people have 4 wisdom teeth, 1 in each corner, but some people have fewer than 4 or none at all.
Wisdom teeth can sometimes grow through at an angle or get stuck and only come out some of the way. Wisdom teeth that grow through in this way are called impacted.
If your wisdom teeth are not causing any problems, they do not usually need to be removed.
But sometimes they cause problems and can be removed on the NHS. Your dentist may perform the procedure, or they may refer you to a dentist with a special interest, or to a hospital's oral and maxillofacial unit.
You'll usually have to pay a charge for wisdom tooth removal. If you're referred to a hospital for NHS treatment, you will not have to pay a charge.
Your dentist can also refer you for private wisdom teeth treatment.
Dental implants
Implants are a fixed alternative to removable dentures.
You can use implants to replace just a single tooth or as many teeth as you need.
To fit an implant, a titanium screw is placed into the jaw bone to support a crown, bridge or denture.
Replacement parts take time to prepare because they need to fit your mouth and other teeth properly. This means they may not be available on your first visit to the dentist.
Implants are usually only available privately and are expensive. Although it's rare, implants are sometimes available on the NHS for patients who cannot wear dentures for certain reasons, such as mouth cancer or an accident.
Dentures or false teeth
More commonly known as false teeth, dentures are fitted in place of natural teeth.
A full set is used to replace all your teeth. A partial set is used to replace 1 or more missing teeth.
Dentures are custom-made using impressions (mouldings) from your gums. They're usually made from metal or plastic.
They're removable, and you can clean them by soaking them in a cleaning solution.
Dentures are important if you lose your natural teeth, as losing your teeth makes it difficult to chew your food, which will adversely affect your diet and may cause your facial muscles to sag.
Broken or knocked-out tooth
It's common to break, chip or knock out a tooth.
If the tooth is just chipped, make a non-emergency dental appointment to have it smoothed down and filled or a crown fitted.
If your tooth has been knocked out or is badly broken, call your dental practice or get advice from 111 online or call 111.
A knocked-out or badly broken adult (permanent) tooth will need to be treated as soon as possible (within 30 minutes to 1 hour, if possible).
If the tooth is still whole, you can try to put it back into the hole in the gum. Make sure the tooth is clean and you do not touch the root.
If it does not go in easily, save the tooth and store it in milk or hold the tooth in your mouth, between the cheek and gums, if possible.
If it's a baby tooth, do not put it back in. It could damage the tooth growing underneath.
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Teeth whitening
Teeth whitening involves lightening the colour of your teeth.
Standard teeth whitening can be done at a dentist or at home using a mouthguard containing bleaching gel.
You usually need to wear the mouthguard and bleaching gel (together, then separately) for a certain period of time over a few weeks.
Another procedure called laser whitening or power whitening is done at the dentist's surgery and takes about an hour.
Teeth whitening is cosmetic and therefore generally only available privately.
Dental veneers
Veneers are new facings for teeth that disguise a discoloured or chipped tooth.
To fit some veneers, the front of the tooth is drilled away a little, but not all veneers need this.
An impression is taken, and a thin layer of porcelain or natural-coloured material is fitted over the front of the tooth (similar to how a false fingernail is applied).
Veneers are generally only available privately, unless you can show a clinical need for them.