Questions, answered
The things patients ask us most, grouped by topic. If your question is not here, call 020 7946 0000 — asking before you book is always fine.
Still deciding?
A check-up is thirty minutes and £68, and at the end of it you will know exactly what, if anything, you need. No treatment is booked without your say-so.
Book a check-upVisits & booking
Most treatments should not hurt once the anaesthetic is working, and we check that it is before we start — properly numb, not "probably numb". You may feel pressure and vibration. If you feel anything sharp, raise a hand and we stop and add more. Afterwards, most people manage with ordinary painkillers for a day or two, and we will tell you honestly when a treatment tends to ache more than that.
No. Gaps of five, ten, even twenty years are common here, and the reasons are usually good ones — cost, fear, a bad experience, life. We will tell you what we find and what we suggest, in order of urgency, and you decide how much to do and how fast.
We keep emergency appointments back every morning. Call before 10am and we will do our best to see you the same day; call later and we will offer the first slot we have and tell you how to manage the pain until then. If you have swelling that is spreading, trouble swallowing, or pain after a blow to the face, tell us straight away.
Cancel or move an appointment free of charge up to 24 hours before it starts — call or reply to your confirmation message. Inside 24 hours we may charge half the fee, because that slot is hard to refill; we will always try to fill it first and only charge if we cannot.
Yes. Ask for any of the four clinicians by name when you book, and you will see the same person at every visit of that treatment. If your doctor is away and you need to be seen sooner, we will offer you the choice of waiting or seeing a colleague.
Treatments
Yes, from their first tooth. Children's check-ups are shorter and built around getting them used to the chair; we never push a nervous child into treatment that can wait. Parents can stay in the room throughout.
Tell us when you book and we will book you a longer, quieter appointment at no extra charge. You can also visit first just to look around and meet the team, with no treatment at all. During treatment, raising a hand stops everything straight away. For longer treatments we can offer sedation, explained fully at your check-up.
Only when they will change a decision. Some things — decay between teeth, infection under a filling, the bone around an implant site — cannot be seen any other way. If we suggest an X-ray we will tell you what we are looking for, and you can always decline.
With ordinary brushing, flossing and six-month check-ups, the implant post itself should last decades — it cannot decay. The crown on top may need replacing after 10–15 years, at the cost of a crown alone. The full picture is on the implants page.
Money & insurance
Yes. For treatments over £500 you can pay monthly, and implants and aligners are naturally spread anyway because the work happens in stages over several months. We go through the full figure with you before anything is booked.
We work with most health insurers, including Northgate and Bluepine. Bring your policy number to your first visit and we will tell you before treatment starts what your policy covers and what is left for you to pay. Policies vary a lot, so we check yours specifically rather than guessing.
Thirty minutes: an examination of your teeth, gums and jaw, X-rays if they are needed, and a written note of anything we suggest, with figures. The hygiene polish is a separate visit of thirty minutes (£72) unless you book both together.