Patient Notice - April 2022
It is with great regret to advise that the practice is no longer accepting New NHS Patients.
If you have a question, please do not hesitate to contact our patient care team on 01386 446 040 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
NHS Dental Care
We are committed to providing high quality NHS dental care, which is offered to all people of all ages and some people may be entitled to free NHS dental treatment. You are entitled to have all clinically necessary treatment on the NHS. This means that the NHS will provide any treatment that you need to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy and free of pain.
This includes:
- Regular dental check-ups
- Preventative treatment
- Dental fillings
- Scale and polish
- Root canal treatment
- Dental crowns and bridges
- Dentures
NHS dental charges from 14 November 2020
Band 1 course of NHS dental treatment – £23.80
This covers an examination, diagnosis (eg X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if needed, and application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant. If you require urgent care, even if your urgent treatment needs more than one appointment to complete, you will only need to pay one Band 1 charge.
Band 2 course of NHS dental treatment – £65.20
This covers everything listed in Band 1 above, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or if your dentist needs to take out one or more of your teeth.
Band 3 course of NHS dental treatment – £282.80
This covers everything listed in Bands 1 and 2 above, plus crowns, dentures and bridges
As part of your dental examination, your dentist will discuss with you your options should you require any dental treatment, they will also provide you with advice on how you can help to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Should you require dental treatment, you may choose to have some general dental treatments provided privately in addition to the NHS treatment. This may be carried out at the same time as your course of NHS treatment.
NHS Emergency or Urgent Dental Treatment
If you are a registered NHS patient at the practice and in pain during our practice opening hours please contact the practice and every effort will be made to see you as soon as possible.
For emergency treatment outside surgery hours please contact NHS 111.
NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.
If you require NHS urgent care, you'll pay a Band 1 charge of £23.80. Often urgent treatments can be done in one appointment.
Once your urgent course of treatment is complete, you may be advised to make another appointment for a separate course of non-urgent treatment. In this case, the relevant NHS banding charge will apply.
Our dentists will always discuss with you your options and provide you with a written treatment plan together with costs, so you can make an informed choice.
Click here to find out more about New Dental Patient availability at our practice or for further information please call our patient care team on 01386 446 040.
Click here to download - NHS Dental Services in England Leaflet - November 2020
Meet our Dentist Ildiko Bigu - GDC No 281487
Ildiko studied at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania, qualifying in 2015 and joined our practice in November 2020.
At the practice Ildiko provides both general NHS and Independent dental care.
For Ildiko it is important to get to know her patients and help them feel at ease during their appointments.
She also places particular focus on patient oral health education and the importance of good oral healthcare at home, as she sees this as a key factor in keeping her patients teeth and gums healthy and avoiding the need of dental treatment.
NHS Dental Care FAQ's:
You do not have to pay for NHS dental treatment if, when the treatment starts, you are:
- aged under 18
- under 19 and receiving full-time education
- pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months
- staying in an NHS hospital and your treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist
- an NHS hospital dental service outpatient (however, you may have to pay for your dentures or bridges)
You do not have to pay if during the course of treatment you or your partner receive:
- Income Support
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Pension Credit guarantee credit
- Universal Credit
OR - you are named on a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate or you are entitled to an NHS tax credit exemption certificate
- you are named on a valid HC2 certificate
You will be asked to show your dentist written proof that you are entitled to help with dental treatment costs.
If you are not sure you are entitled to help, then you must pay. You can afterwards claim a refund, but make sure you keep all receipts. For further information click here to visit the NHS Choices website.
If you have been used to regular NHS check-ups every 6 months you may find that this changes. The gap could be longer or shorter than this, depending on how healthy your teeth and gums are and your risk of future problems. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance to help dentists decide how often each patient needs a check-up.
How often should I come back for a dental check-up?
After your check-up, your dentist will recommend a date for your next visit, and discuss this with you. The time to your check-up could be as short as 3 months or as long as 2 years – or up to 1 year if you are under 18.
What if I need other dental treatments?
The NICE guidelines are about routine dental check-ups only. You may have other appointments for treatments such as teeth cleaning (scale and polish), fillings or for emergency treatment. If you have problems with your teeth between check-ups, contact your dentist to make an earlier appointment.
For more information on the NICE Dental Check-up guidelines click hereherehere, alternatively contact our patient care team on 01386 446 040.
Regular dental check-ups are the best way to ensure that your teeth and mouth are in the best possible condition.
Preventive dentistry is the modern way of reducing the amount of dental treatment necessary to maintain a healthy mouth and so help avoid the traditional pattern of fillings and extractions.
Regular dental check-ups are important as they allow for any problems to be detected and treated before they cause any permanent damage to your teeth and mouth. Leaving dental problems untreated could make them more difficult to treat in the future, so it is always best to deal with problems early, or if possible, prevent them altogether.
At your NHS dental check-up your dentist will:
- Examine your teeth, gums and mouth.
- Ask about your general health and any problems you’ve had with your teeth, mouth or gums since your last visit.
- Ask about, and give you advice on, your diet, smoking and alcohol use, and teeth-cleaning habits.
- Discuss with you any required treatment and a date for your next visit.
If you know you will not be able to attend an appointment then please give as much notice as possible to the dental practice so they can cancel your appointment and offer your slot to another patient. Your dentist can terminate your treatment if you miss your appointment without letting the dental practice know. You may then need to pay again for a new course of treatment.
While surgeries can’t charge you for not turning up, NHS England has the right to ask you to find another dental practice if you continue to miss appointments.
(NHS dental charges from 14 November 2020
If you pay for your NHS dental care this is what you will be charged:
Depending on what treatment you need, you should only ever be asked to pay one charge for each complete course of treatment, even if you need to visit your dentist more than once to finish it. You will not be charged for individual items within the course of treatment.
Band 1 course of NHS dental treatment – £23.80
This covers an examination, diagnosis (eg X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if needed, and application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant. If you require urgent care, even if your urgent treatment needs more than one appointment to complete, you will only need to pay one Band 1 charge.
Band 2 course of NHS dental treatment – £65.20
This covers everything listed in Band 1 above, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or if your dentist needs to take out one or more of your teeth.
Band 3 course of NHS dental treatment – £282.80
This covers everything listed in Bands 1 and 2 above, plus crowns, dentures and bridges
Please note: From time to time we may not always be able to immediately provide NHS dental treatment to new patients, this is due to having used our allocation of NHS funding for that period. In these circumstances we will offer patients to either go on our NHS waiting list or Independent dental treatments.