NHS Dental Care

Proud to offer NHS care at our Greenwich dental clinic.

Advances in dentistry means that there are now many more sophisticated general and cosmetic dental procedures widely available than ever before.

Due to budgetary considerations though, many of these are not available on the NHS. Certain ‘medical’ ones such as dental implants may be available on the NHS under very rare circumstances, but specifically cosmetic treatments, such as teeth whitening, are only ever available privately.

Whilst many patients of the Confidental Clinic attend the practice for our cosmetic dental treatments, we do still provide NHS dental care for those who wish only to ensure that they have healthy and functional teeth, and who may not be as concerned about how they look.

Getting the basics right

The vast majority of us will be born with healthy teeth and there is no reason that they should not stay that way if we look after them properly. In addition to good home cleaning, this means regular checks, and perhaps occassional minor treatment, by your local dentist.

This is where NHS dentistry comes into its own. It provides essential care of your teeth and gums and means that no one needs to suffer from poor oral health because of their financial circumstances. Regular six monthly check ups are an essential part of this care and we do request that patients keep their appointments. If you are a nervous patient, please discuss this with us and we will do all that we can to help you with this.

Treatments

A wide range of treatments are available under the NHS and these are covered in three cost bands. All treatments available are there to help patients to maintain healthy teeth, but not necessarily to improve their appearance. For example, if a patient needs a filling because of tooth decay, only amalgam fillings are available under the NHS. These fillings are very strong but do have the disadvantage of being a dark colour and therefore highly visible. We do supply tooth coloured fillings at our Greenwich dental practice but these are only available privately. Patients are, of course, free to choose this option if they wish, something which is more likely perhaps if it is a front tooth that is being filled.

Cosmetic treatments

It is not unusual for our NHS patients to take an interest in some of the other treatments that we offer which can help them to have a more attractive smile. Some of these, such as a teeth whitening procedure, are very affordable for many and are an excellent way of having great looking teeth in just a short time. Other treatments which are not purely cosmetic, such as dental implants, offer many practical benefits over the NHS alternatives of dentures or a bridge. Although cost may be a factor for some, we may suggest that you consider these if we feel that you would benefit significantly from having them. Of course we will not put you under any pressure and it’s also worthwhile noting that we offer finance plans to help you to spread the payments.

If you are new to the Greenwich area, or are considering looking for a new NHS dentist in the area, why not give the Confidental Clinic a call on 020 8858 1422.