How to choose a dentist in the UK

Registration is mandatory and checkable

The General Dental Council maintains the register of dental professionals in the UK. Practising dentistry without registration is a criminal offence, and the register covers dental nurses, hygienists, therapists and technicians as well as dentists.

The register is public and searchable, and it shows the registration number and any current restrictions on practice. If you want to verify someone before treatment, that is the authoritative source.

Practices are inspected too

In England, dental practices must register with the Care Quality Commission under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and the CQC inspects and publishes reports. The equivalent bodies are Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority in Northern Ireland.

That means there are two separate things you can check: the individual clinician on the GDC register, and the practice with the relevant inspectorate.

It is also worth knowing that the GDC register covers more than dentists. Hygienists, therapists, dental nurses, technicians and orthodontic therapists are each registered in their own category, so if someone other than the dentist is treating you, they can be looked up the same way.

Where a complaint goes depends on how you paid

Raise it with the practice first in every case, and they must have a procedure for it. What happens next depends on whether the treatment was NHS or private, which is a second reason to be clear which you are receiving before it starts.

NHS treatment complaints follow the NHS complaints procedure for your nation and can end with the relevant ombudsman. Private treatment complaints go to the Dental Complaints Service, which is funded by the General Dental Council and handles service disputes.

Concerns about a clinician fitness to practise, rather than the service you received, go directly to the GDC itself. That is a different route with a different purpose, and the GDC will say so if you pick the wrong one.

NHS and private treatment are not the same thing

NHS dental charges in England are set in bands covering broad categories of treatment, so the cost of a given course of treatment does not depend on which practice you attend. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate their own charging arrangements.

Private fees are set by each practice and vary considerably. Many practices offer both, and it is entirely legitimate for them to do so, but you are entitled to know, before treatment starts, whether what is being proposed is NHS or private, and what it will cost.

Finding a practice taking new NHS patients

Availability of NHS dental appointments varies significantly by area, and practices open and close their lists as capacity changes. A practice that was not accepting NHS patients last month may be doing so now, so it is worth asking directly rather than relying on an out-of-date listing.

You are not tied to a practice by catchment in the way you might expect from GP registration, so widening your search area is often the practical answer.

Questions worth asking

• Are you taking new NHS patients, or is this private treatment?
• Can I have the treatment plan and costs in writing before we start?
• What are your arrangements for emergencies and out-of-hours care?
• Is the practice accessible if I have mobility needs?
• How do you handle complaints, and who do I escalate to?