Welcome

Welcome to The Dentist Register where you can access dentists in your local area. You can find exactly where your local dentists are located, telephone numbers to make appointments, full information on dental services provided and direct links to dentist Web sites.

We fully appreciate the dilemma posed by the current availability of NHS dentists in your area. By providing an easy to use dental practice locator together with services and treatment provided by each dental practice, we hope we can go some way to alleviating your fears by demonstrating that private dental treatment does not have to be as intimidating or as costly as most of us are led to believe.

NHS Treatment....and why many dentists are opting out.

With new NHS contracts being introduced to dentists across the UK from April 2006, many dental practices believe the revised system unworkable. The idea of the new contract is that dentists will be able to spend more time with individual patients. By definition, this means that by spending more time on individual appointments, they will be able to see fewer patients.The new contract states that dentists must carry out 95% of the courses of treatment they currently do to get the same remuneration, which dentists say leaves them little time for addressing other areas such as oral health and preventative treatment. The British Dental Association (BDA) has said that the new contract does not give dentists enough time to do preventative work - especially on children. Fortunately, dentists who have opted out of the new contract can still treat children on the NHS, should they so wish.

So what are the options?

Private Treatment

Fees for private dental treatment can differ quite substantially from practice to practice. You can contact a dentist as and when you require treatment and receive private dental care. Of course, this will be more expensive than previous NHS funded treatment, but there are advantages. The appointment can be made much sooner and the dentist will be able to spend more time on the appointment. Private dentists are also often trained in other areas of dental care, including cosmetic dentistry and reconstruction.

Dental Care Plans

Many dental practices are now offering Dental Care Plans.
These provide regular annual or bi-annual check ups covering clinical examinations, checking for signs of oral cancer, x rays when required, temporary emergency treatment and up to 30% reduction off any treatmentrequired i.e fillings, bridges, dentures.
These plans cost from around £10 per month, per patient.

Emergency Treatment

When the worst happens and you need emergency dental treatment, most dentists in the UK can give immediate help. IMPORTANT - this is irrespective of whether the dentist is NHS or private (although some charges will be incurred). Dental surgeries all have their own arrangements in place for emergency treatment. Details of these can be obtained by telephoning the dentist direct, however, out of hours most dentists provide information by answerphone/emergency number - much the same as doctors surgeries.
If you are not registered with a particular dentist, or are on holiday in the UK, then use our guide for dental praticioners in the relevant area. Alternatively, you can source emergency treatment by telephoning NHS Direct Helpline on 0845 46 47.

Making Appointments

The Government's changes mean that patients will no longer be registered with their dentist, but this does not mean that you cannot continue to see your usual dentist if their NHS contract allows it. If you ask for an appointment, your dental practice will try to offer you one as soon as possible at a convenient time within the hours they have set aside for NHS patients. The NHS now asks dentists to provide a fixed, limited amount of NHS care each year and so they have to allocate their time and their NHS budget accordingly.

You can choose which dentist you would like to see at the practice, but it may not always be possible to arrange this because the particular dentist may not have any NHS time available.

NHS dentists will, where necessary, provide treatment that is needed urgently. Urgent treatment means treatment that the dentist considers necessary to relieve severe pain or prevent your oral condition deteriorating before you can make a normal appointment. Out of hours you should call NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

NHS patient charges

From 1st April, Government NHS patient charges are changing. If you pay NHS charges, instead of paying a proportion of the cost of your treatment, you will pay one of four fixed charges relating to the type of care and treatment you have had. The charge bands are given below. If you have a check-up and two fillings, for example, you will pay one Band 2 charge of £44.60 (or £39.00 if you live in Wales). If you need a crown as well, you will pay one Band 3 charge of £198.00 (or £177.00 if you live in Wales). If you need three crowns you will also pay one Band 3 charge of £198 (or £177.00 if you live in Wales).

NHS dental care is still free to children under 18 or under 19 in full-time education as well as pregnant women and new mothers and people on certain state benefits.

Your dental practice team will be happy to answer any questions you have about the new charges.

Examples of treatment bands

Band 1: Diagnosis treatment planning and maintenance
Clinical examination, x-rays, scaling and polishing, preventative dental work such as oral hygiene instruction
£16.50
(Wales: £12.00)

Band 2: Simple treatment
Fillings, extractions, surgical procedures
£45.60
(Wales: £39.00)

Band 3: Provision of appliances
Complex treatment which includes a laboratory element such as bridgework, crowns and dentures
£198.00
(Wales: £177.00)

Dental Technicians

Dental Technicians make dentures, crowns, bridges and dental braces to improve the patients appearance, speech and their ability to chew. Working to dentists or doctors prescriptions, technicians use a wide range of materials, including gold, porcelain and plastic, to design and construct appliances to meet each patients needs.

There are four areas. Prosthodontic technicians design and make dentures. Conservation technicians specialise in crown and bridge work. Orthodontic technicians make braces to correct tooth positions. Maxillo-facial technicians work is based in hospital oral surgery, ophthalmic, cancer and burns units, helping to reconstruct the faces of patients damaged by accident or disease.

Dental Technicians also work direct with the public for the repairing, design and fitting of dentures, often with a same day service.


Cosmetic Dentistry

An increasingly popular branch of treatment generally available is Cometic Dentistry. Treatments include Porcelain Veneers, Whitening, Dental Implants and facial regeneration. These are available at most private dentist practices. An example of costs are:
 

• Tooth whitening Gel- Tray whitening £300 - £700
• Laser whitening £700 - £1300
• BriteSmile whitening £500 - £700
• Porcelain veneers £300 - £500 per veneer
• Tooth straightening
• Dental implants £1,500 - £2,000 per tooth
• Bridging £300 - £500
• Porcelain crowns £400 - £800 per crown