NHS Dentistry – Supporting The Nation’s Oral Health In 2025

Although many excellent treatments are only available privately, the NHS still provides the baseline for a healthy mouth.

Ever since the foundation of the NHS in 1948, dental treatment has been available for everyone in the UK. Initially, this was free of charge, but its popularity and the cost of treatment led to fees being introduced in 1951. Fees are still in place today but are heavily subsidised, allowing people to receive essential dental care.

At the Cygnet Dental Practice, we offer both private and NHS dentistry to allow our patients to choose from a wide range of treatments. We will look at some of the benefits of private care a little later on, but predominantly, today, we will take a look at what we provide on the NHS.

The essentials

The one thing that everyone should do is to maintain six monthly check ups. This enables you to stay on top of any problems that might occur during that time and allows treatment to be as minimal as possible, catching problems in the early stages. At the time of writing this blog, the fee stands at £27.40; a small price to pay to maintain healthy teeth and gums.

From time to time, relatively minor problems might arise that lead to the need for a filling, for example. These are usually amalgam ones, with teeth coloured fillings for cosmetic purposes, only being available privately.

Dental fees are classed in 3 bands with prices rising accordingly. At the present time these are as follows, with a few of the  more common treatments included. You can see a fuller list of available treatments here – Local NHS Dentist In Wickford

Band 1 – £27.40

This includes the likes of check ups, x-rays when needed, scale and polish and minor filling adjustments

Band 2 – £75.30

Including dental fillings, root canal procedures, extractions and some non-surgical periodontal treatments

Band 3 – £326.10

Including treatments such as inlays and onlays, crowns, dental bridges and dentures

As you can see from the above, these treatments fall into the category of restorative dentistry and focus on overall oral health and functionality. Some treatments, such as dental implants, while falling into this category (as well as cosmetic, potentially) are rarely included in NHS dental care and would need to be paid for privately. Tooth loss replacement under the NHS would generally be fulfilled by using dentures or a bridge.

What NHS dental care does not include, of course, is cosmetic dentistry, i.e. the aesthetics of your smile. For anyone wishing to have their teeth whitened, for example, this would need to be paid for privately.

Please note that our NHS services are limited and available on a “first come first served” basis. As such, please call us to check current availability.

Private dentistry

While some of the above treatments are also available privately, they sometimes have additional reasons for only being available privately. A good example of this is where a patient requests a gold crown. Obviously this is expensive and to provide cosmetic treatments, which are beneficial but not essential would increase costs and almost certainly lead to rises in NHS fees to cover them.

While cosmetic treatments in particular are only available privately and therefore cost the patient more, we do offer a range of payment plans to help our Wickford patients to spread the cost of any treatment received. This is especially good news for those opting for dental implants to replace missing teeth. This is a complex and lengthier treatment, hence the higher cost.

Perhaps the most popular treatment that is paid for privately is teeth whitening. This has become incredibly popular and this is perhaps not surprising. It is still a relatively affordable treatment for most people and has an almost immediate impact on the way that your teeth look. Some people choose to have this done for a single event such as a wedding or their holidays, while others have this done more regularly to maintain a generally whiter smile. We always work with our patients to help them achieve the results that they want.

Veneers also offer another route to a whiter smile and are also becoming very popular too.

As mentioned earlier, teeth implants have to be paid for privately but, while dentures offer a reasonable choice to replace lost teeth, they don’t provide the root part of the tooth and can be less stable and secure for that reason. With implants replacing the missing tooth root, as well as the crown, this tooth replacement method is the closest thing to a natural tooth that is currently available. Although it may appear a little expensive to some people; once placed and integrated, it can last for twenty years or more and, if looked after, should require no special follow up treatment. Dentures, on the other hand, may need to be adjusted and even repaired. Dropping dentures in the sink when cleaning is more common than you might think!

If you are unsure about whether NHS or private dental care is more suitable for your needs, why not come and have a talk with us at our local Wickford practice? You can do this by calling the Cygnet Dental Practice today on 01268 733078. We look forward to helping you decide.