Appointments

Appointments And Emergencies

PLEASE NOTE  If you are feeling unwell/infectious, have any respiratory signs/symptoms, please telephone the Practice for advice. 

Required Forms:

To assist us in making your visit run more efficiently and provide more clinical time, we now send any required forms out electronically, either via email or text message.

If you could complete the required forms as soon as possible prior to your appointment, to allow your appointment to go ahead as planned. The forms are easy to complete, they include a Yes/No Medical History, a COVID-19 Questionnaire and an NHS Patient Declaration Form. The forms are automatically returned to us electronically and we do not require the forms to be printed.  

Making an Appointment

You can make an appointment 

by phoning 01642 677727 or you can call in to the practice during our opening hours as below (if unable to telephone us).

Current Practice Hours:

Monday-Thursday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm

Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

If you pay towards your NHS treatment you will pay one of three bands and prices. 

Dental charges payable are as follows from 1st April 2024

  • Band 1    £26.80
    This band includes examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, scale and polish if clinically needed and preventative care (eg applications of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant)
  • Band 2    £73.50
    This band covers everything listed in band 1, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or extractions
  • Band 3    £319.10
    This band covers everything in bands 1 and 2, plus treatment including dentures, crowns, bridges (if clinically needed) and other laboratory work.
  • Urgent    £26.80
    This band covers urgent assessment and specified urgent treatments such as pain relief, a temporary filling or dental appliance repair.

It is Practice policy to request payment is made before any appointment or treatment is carried out.  The total payment should be paid on or before treatment is completed.  We accept payment by cash or credit/debit card.  

If you are exempt from paying NHS dental charges, evidence of your exemption is required to be seen by a member of our reception/administration team.

Please note it is your responsibility to know which exemption applies.  You can use the online NHS eligibility checker below to find out what you’re entitled to.  It usually takes 3 minutes to check.

NHS Eligibility Checker

If you claim free NHS prescriptions or NHS dental treatment when you’re not entitled, you could face a £100 penalty charge, even if it’s by mistake.

Private Treatment 

The Practice offers a range of private treatment.  Please discuss treatment options with your dentist. 

Recalls

At the end of your course of treatment, your dentist will discuss with you when you will need to see a dentist again. NHS dentists follow guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). This means you will be requested to attend as often as is needed and may no longer need a check-up every six months.  

Cancellations

If you are unable to keep your appointment please let us know as soon as possible so that we can allocate the appointment time to another patient. 

Missed appointments waste surgery time and deny other people in need. If you regularly miss appointments and give less than 24 hrs’ notice, we may not be able to complete your treatment or offer you any further NHS appointments in the future.

If you fail to attend an appointment, the Practice will contact you to ask if you wish to continue with your planned treatment, if so another appointment will be arranged.  If you do not return to finish your course of treatment your treatment plan will be terminated, which may result in paying patients having to pay for a new course of treatment.

Urgent Care

The Practice has a limited number of urgent care appointments available each day, once we have reached capacity for urgent care, unfortunately no more appointments on the day can be offered.

An urgent care appointment may be offered following an initial triage assessment by one of the dental team.  

Out of Hours Service 

Emergencies out of normal Practice hours – Telephone  111

If you need dental advice please visit the NHS Choices website

Patients’ Responsibilities

We ask that you treat the whole dental team with respect and courtesy.  We will always endeavour to meet your needs but require understanding if this is not possible.  We will not tolerate verbal or physical abuse and may refuse services to any person who does not observe common standards of courtesy.

Complaints Procedure

We hope that any concerns can be sorted out easily and quickly at the time that they arise.  If for any reason it is not possible to do that, then complaints should be addressed to the Business Manager, Emma Fortescue, who will ensure that your concerns are dealt with promptly.   A copy of our complaints procedure is available upon request.