Moving to a new country always involves a lot of adjustments. One of the question that most people have is how to find a dentist in the UK when they first moved. However, this is easier said than done in the UK right now.
The healthcare system in the UK is basically heavily public-funded, and the National Health Service (NHS) is its major backbone, which provides FREE essential healthcare services like seeing a family doctor (known as GP in the UK), emergency healthcare and hospital services.
Unlike finding a doctor, seeing a dentist in the UK is not free. However, this can also divided into NHS and private dental services.The NHS provides dental care to UK residents at lower costs than private dentists.
But in recent years, it’s become increasingly difficult to get an NHS dentist appointment. Some reports show that only 50% of adults and 60% of children requiring dental care can secure NHS treatment. This shortage has led to long wait times for appointments and limited choices for NHS dentists accepting new patients.
Why is there a shortage of NHS dentists? Many dentists have switched to private practice due to low pay rates from the NHS and high overhead costs of operating a practice. The UK government has pledged to reform NHS dentistry and provide more funding, but changes won’t happen overnight.
What does this mean for you? In this article, I am going to share some tips on how to find a dentist as a new UK resident.
Table of Contents
How to find a Dentist: The Initial Search
What services do NHS Dental Service Offer? At What Price?
The NHS Dental Service provides many basic dental procedures, like crowns and bridges, treatment of dental abscesses, dentures, orthodontics (a treatment to improve appearance and position of teeth), root canal treatment, scale and polish, wisdom tooth removal and white fillings.
These treatments are generally divided into 4 different bands, which come with different prices:
| Band | Description | Price (£) |
| Urgent | Pain relief or temporary filling | 25.8 |
| 1 | Examination, diagnosis (e.g. X-ray), advice, scale and polish, preventative care | 25.8 |
| 2 | Everything in band 1 Fillings, root canal treatment, teeth removal | 70.7 |
| 3 | Everything in band 2 Crowns, dentures, bridges | 306.8 |
If you belong to the following categories, you can even get dental service for free:
- Under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education (Congratulations students!)
- Pregnant or had a baby within the last 12 months
- Receiving low income benefits
- If you are in hospital and the dental treatment is carried out by a hospital dentist
Should I Try NHS Dental Service?
Given that NHS dental service is almost non-existent at the very moment, should you still check out if individual dental clinics still open their NHS list?
Well, why not? It is significantly cheaper than what you can get from private, and the service is literally carried out by the same dentist.
I emailed all dental clinics nearby one by one, asking for the possibility to be accepted as an NHS patient.
Without surprise, all of them replied me that the NHS waiting lists were currently on hold and none of them was taking NHS patients, but what if the dentist in your area changes their mind?
How to Find A Dentist?
The process of finding a dental clinic near your home is simple and easy.
All you need is a Google Map, which you can type dental in the search box. As you share your location with Google, it will be able to highlight a number of dental clinics near your home.
By scrolling the map up and down, you can easily check out their location and know how close they are to your home, and there are also google reviews which people comment on the service quality.
If you are not comfortable with using Google Map to find your dentist, you can also search with the NHS dental website and simply type in your postcode to get the closest clinics details. It shows the official site link and contact details which you can use when making an enquiry.
No Clinic Is Accepting NHS Patients. What Should I Do?
Unfortunately, you will have to pay private fees just like me.
Unlike seeing a GP, paying privately for a dental checkup and cleaning is almost expected in the UK. That is why more people here tend to see a dentist only when urgent things like severe toothache happen, which isn’t a good practice at all.
The private fees for different dental procedures are usually clearly listed on the clinics’ websites. Check them out and compare them, aim for one that is both near to you and offers the most cost-effective treatment with good reviews!
Just to give you an idea of how the price is set, the price that I paid last time to do a routine checkup and a 20-minute cleaning is £48 each. They were quite expensive and about double the price of the NHS, but was worth the price given that I only do them once a year, and the fact that they prevent me from getting more severe teeth problems that would eventually require pricey dental interventions!
Booking Dental Appointments
After pondering a while on how to find a dentist, you finally made a decision and chose the right dental clinic. What’s next?
Apparently, it is to register yourself into the dental clinic.
Registering a Dental Clinic
The registration process is meant to be easy for most of those. Just like registering for a GP, it depends on that particular clinic to which method they prefer for registration. Some of them accept online registration, mine requires a phone call to verbally confirm all my personal details, and walk-in and speak to the receptionist in-person may also be an option.
The details that they need do not require any proof, you don’t need a passport nor address proof to be able to register to a dental clinic. All you need is to provide your name, date of birth, current address and other simple demographic details which you should be able to answer without searching for anything in particular.
Then, you immediately book in your first appointment.
New Patient Appointment
As the dentist will usually ask your medical history quite thoroughly in your first appointment, and perform x-ray to get a baseline of your oral health, the first appointment is typically slightly more expensive than a routine examination.
My first appointment was £55, just a few pounds more expensive than a routine one (£48).
The X-ray confirmed that I have no tooth issue at the moment (which excited me!), and the dentist also performed a detailed check on each of my tooth. She checked with me my toothbrushing habits, and how often I consume sugary food or drinks.
I learned one new thing after my first appointment, which is “Spit, but don’t rinse” as my dentist advised me that rinsing the toothpaste with water will reduce its function.
I was used to seeing my dentist and hygienist on the same day, just to get everything tooth-related sorted at once, but my clinic told me that I was not allowed to book a hygienist appointment until I complete my new patient appointment…
So, after my first visit, my dentist confirmed with me that we would see in a years’ time and the receptionist will contact me when it’s closer to that time.
Hygienist Appointment
As I left the examination room, I immediately went to the reception to book for my hygienist appointment, which involves doing a deep clean of my teeth.
The waiting time may vary in different locations and change due to demand and supply, but for me, I had to wait 2 months before I get to see my hygienist.
The clinic was very good and sent me reminder emails when I was due to have an appointment with them. It gave me sufficient time to cancel the appointment by allowing a 24-hour notice.
The process became even simpler as I arrived into the clinic for the second time for my hygienist appointment, I informed the receptionist of my presence and only waited several minutes to get admitted into the room.
I felt completely refreshed as my teeth became smooth again after the 20-minute cleaning.
Summary
Don’t struggle on how to find a dentist in the UK anymore with this guide. Head to the Google Map, find the dental clinics nearby and start emailing them to learn if they have a NHS waiting list right now.
Maintaining your oral health is extremely important, and it is often recommended that we should see a dentist every 6-12 months. You won’t want to experience that excruciating tooth pain that stops you from doing everything in life!
Comment below and let me know what’s your experience with finding a dentist in the UK, and wish you all the luck in your search!
