NHS dental care – Information for Patients

NHS dental care is free for:

• children up to the age of 18 (up to 19 if in full-time education)
• pregnant women
• women who have had a baby in the previous 12 months
• people on some benefits.

Dentistry is one of the few NHS services where you have to pay a contribution towards the cost of your care. The information on this page explains what you may have to pay for your NHS dental treatment.

Treatments free of charge

You do not have to pay a dental charge if:

• you are having stitches removed
• your dentist must stop bleeding from your mouth
• your dentures need repair.

You may also be exempt from NHS dental charges depending on your individual circumstances. The NHS Business Services Authority has an online tool that helps you check to see if you are exempt from NHS charges.

Not available on the NHS

The NHS will not provide cosmetic treatments such as teeth whitening, which you may want to make your teeth more attractive, but are not clinically necessary.

If you have completed a course of treatment and need more treatment

If you have completed one course of treatment but you need another treatment, you do not have to pay again if:

• you need more treatment within the same or a lower charge band (such as another filling) within 2 months of completing a course of treatment.
• you need repair work or a replacement for crowns, bridges, or dentures within a year of the original work being done – you should return to the same dentist, but certain conditions apply, which your dentist should discuss with you.

List of dental treatments by band

All the treatment your dentist believes is clinically necessary to achieve and maintain good oral health is available on the NHS. This means that the NHS provides any treatment you need to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy.

It does not include treatments that you might want for cosmetic reasons but that are not clinically necessary.

The following list of dental treatments is therefore not a comprehensive list of treatments that all patients are entitled to under NHS services provision.

Band 1 course of treatment: £25.80

• clinical examination, case assessment and report
• orthodontic case assessment and report
• advice, dental charting, diagnosis and treatment planning
• radiographic examination and radiological report
• study casts
• colour photographs
• instruction in the prevention of dental and oral disease, including dietary advice and dental hygiene instruction
• surface application as primary preventive measures of sealants and topical fluoride preparations
• scaling, polishing and marginal correction of fillings.
• taking material for pathological examination
• adjustments to, and easing of, dentures or orthodontic appliances
• treatment of sensitive cementum

Band 2 course of treatment: £70.70

• non-surgical periodontal treatment (gum disease treatment), including root planning, deep scaling, irrigation of periodontal pockets and subgingival curettage and all necessary scaling and polishing
• surgical periodontal treatment, including gingivectomy, gingivoplasty or removal of an operculum, raising and replacement of a mucoperiosteal flap, curettage, root planing and bone resection
• free gingival grafts
• permanent fillings in amalgam, composite resin, synthetic resin, glass ionomer, compomers, silicate or silico-phosphate, including acid etch retention
• sealant restorations
• endodontic treatments (root canal treatment) of permanent or retained deciduous teeth, pulpotomy and apicoectomy
• extraction of teeth
• transplantation of teeth
• oral surgery including surgical removal of cyst, buried root, unerupted tooth, impacted tooth or exostosed tooth and alveolectomy
• soft tissue surgery in relation to the buccal cavity and lips
• frenectomy, frenuloplasty, frenotomy
• relining and rebasing dentures including soft linings
• addition of tooth, clasp, labial or buccal flange to dentures
• splints (other than laboratory-made splints) in relation to periodontally compromised teeth and in connection with external trauma
• bite-raising appliances (other than laboratory made appliances)

Band 3 course of treatment: £306.80

• Laboratory-made porcelain or composite veneers
• Crowns
• Bridges
• Provision of full (completed) or partial dentures
• Orthodontic treatment and appliances
• Other custom-made applications excluding sports guards

Applying for a refund

If you pay NHS dental treatment charges then find out that you’re entitled to free or reduced cost treatment, you can claim a refund. You must make your refund claim within three months of paying charges.

Find out how to apply for a refund of your NHS dental charges on help with dental costs.

Complain about an NHS dental practice

Raise your complaint with the practice directly by asking for a copy of our complaint procedure.

If you do not want to complain to our practice, you can raise this with the NHS directly.

Dental practices in England

The way members of the public make a complaint about primary care services to the commissioner has changed. Rather than contacting NHS England, complaints should be made directly to the local integrated care board (ICB).

• Find your local integrated care board (ICB)
• Find out more about how to feedback or make a complaint about an NHS service

If you’re not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can raise this with the relevant Ombudsman:

• in England, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
• in Wales, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

The Ombudsman can only deal with a complaint after you have exhausted the complaints procedure at your practice with NHS England.