NHS Fees

There are three bands of charges for all NHS dental treatments.

The current dental charges are:

Band 1 dental treatment: £23.80

Depending on what’s necessary, this can cover:

  • A clinical examination, assessment and report 
  • An orthodontic assessment and report
  • Advice, diagnosing and planning of your treatment
  • X-rays
  • Moulds of your teeth – for example, to see how your teeth bite together
  • Taking coloured photographs
  • Advice on preventing future problems, such as diet advice and cleaning instructions 
  • Applying sealants or fluoride preparations to the surfaces of your teeth
  • A scale and polish
  • Marginal correction of fillings
  • Taking a sample of cells or tissue from your mouth to examine (pathological examination)
  • Adjusting false teeth (dentures) or orthodontic appliances, such as braces
  • Treating sensitive cementum (the tissue that covers the root of a tooth)

Urgent treatment when you need to see a dentist immediately also costs £18.80.

Band 2 dental treatment: £65.20

Depending on what’s necessary, this can cover everything listed in band 1 above, plus:

  • non-surgical treatment of periodontitis (a severe form of gum disease) – such as root planing (cleaning bacteria from the roots of your teeth) or deep scaling and a polish
  • surgical treatment of periodontitis – such as removing some gum tissue (gingivectomy)
  • free gingival grafts – when healthy tissue from the roof of your mouth is attached to your teeth where the root is exposed 
  • fillings
  • sealant restorations – when sealant is used to fill a small hole and seal any grooves in your teeth 
  • root canal treatment (endodontics)
  • pulpotomy – removing dental pulp (the soft tissue at the centre of a tooth)
  • apicectomy – removing the tip of the root of a tooth
  • transplanting teeth
  • removing teeth (extraction) 
  • oral surgery – such as removing a cyst
  • soft tissue surgery to the mouth or lips
  • frenectomy, frenoplasty or frenotomy – surgery to the folds of tissue that connect your tongue, lips and cheeks to your jaw bone 
  • relining and rebasing dentures
  • adding to your dentures – such as adding a clasp or a tooth
  • splinting loose teeth – for example, after an accident or due to periodontitis; this doesn’t include laboratory-made splints  
  • bite-raising appliances (similar to a mouth guard) – for example, to correct your jaw alignment; this doesn’t include laboratory-made appliances

Band 3 dental treatment: £282.80

Depending on what’s necessary, this can cover everything listed in bands 1 and 2 above, plus:

  • veneers and palatal veneers – new surfaces for the front or back of a tooth
  • inlays, pinlays and onlays – used to restore damaged teeth
  • crowns – a type of cap that completely covers your real tooth
  • bridges – a fixed replacement for a missing tooth or teeth 
  • dentures
  • orthodontic treatment and appliances such as braces
  • other custom-made appliances, not including sports guards

Treatments such as veneers, crowns,bridges and braces are only available on the NHS if there’s a clinical need for them (not for cosmetic reasons).