Terms of service
At The Dentalist, we constantly endeavour to provide the highest quality service. This agreement provides further details of our terms and conditions of service. As a patient of The Dentalist, we ask that you agree to follow these terms and conditions.
Treatment planning
Once your treatment plan has been agreed upon with the Dentist or Dental Specialist, we will provide details of your treatment plan. If this plan changes due to radiographic or clinical findings, we will inform you and discuss this with you. Treatment plans and fees are valid for 90 days from the date the treatment was prescribed. If you wish to query any points on your treatment plan, please do not hesitate to ask us before booking the appointments for actual treatments.
Consent forms
Specific treatments require the completion of a written consent form. This explains the treatment, aftercare, any risks and benefits to you thoroughly before any of these treatments are carried out.
Consent for any treatment can be withdrawn at any point by the patient or dental professional.
Fees
The final balance for treatment is due on the day the treatment is provided. A minimum of 50% of any future appointment fee is required when booking an appointment. We do not operate an account in an arrear’s facility, and we need payments to be settled at the appointment where treatment is provided. Where treatment incurs a laboratory fee, a minimum of 50% of the total cost is due at the appointment when impressions are taken. For specific treatments like Dental Implants and Invisalign, fees are taken in staged payments and at each visit outlined in your treatment plan.
Fees for treatment where intravenous sedation is included must be settled before the appointment to avoid financial transactions or signatures being required whilst a client is still under the influence of the sedative.
In cases where treatment is paid for on finance through a Finance company, please be aware that the finance agreement must be accepted and signed before starting that treatment. Please note that finance is only available on treatments over £250.00, not including Emergency Dental Treatment, and that a minimum deposit may also be required.
If you have financed any of your treatment costs through the finance company and wish to cancel your treatment after signing the agreement forms, please be aware that a cancellation fee of up to 15% of the total finance amount will be charged.
The Dentalist reserves the right to charge time-based deposits for booking future appointments. Deposits are deductible from the cost of treatment.
Payment methods accepted are: Cash, Debit/Credit Card, Stripe
The Dentalist does not accept any payments by cheque. Please note that unpaid accounts are routinely referred to a Debt Collection Agency or the Small Claims Court, and we reserve the right to recover all costs incurred in doing so.
Late cancellation or missed appointments
We require a minimum of 2 business days’ notice to cancel an arranged appointment with our General Dentist or Hygienist, and 3 business days’ notice is required for a set appointment with our Specialist Dentists.
When we schedule an appointment for a patient, we book the surgery time off for that patient’s treatment. Failure to give the appropriate notice of cancellation or not attending your appointment may result in a Failed Appointment Fee
being charged. This fee is charged per 30 minutes of the appointment failed and covers the cost of the surgery time wasted.
Failed to attend
Failed Appointment fees must be settled before any other appointment is offered. We reserve the right to take a minimum of 50% deposit to book further appointments for missed appointments or short notice cancellations.
Please note it is also down to the clinic discretion if further appointments can be booked for any late cancellations or missed appointments.
Late for appointments
The Dentalist understand that some patients travel long distances to get to the practice, and in some cases, being late for appointments can be unavoidable. If you are more than 10 minutes, please be aware that you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.
NHS appointments
NHS Appointments Under the terms of the NHS contract, we will not take any charge for failure to attend an NHS appointment. However, any patient who fails to attend two appointments or more will not be accepted for further treatment under the NHS at The Dentalist. This includes patients who do not give 48 hours’ notice or arrive too late to be seen or those that have short noticed cancelled more than twice however this will be at The Dentalist’s discretion.
Personal Details
You must give a complete medical history and details of any medication you take. Should these change in any way, you need to tell your Dentist. The patient’s responsibility is to inform the clinic of any personal details and medical history changes.
Use of Images and X-rays
The Dentalist may ask to use images and x-rays of your smile and teeth only for marketing and educational purposes. We may also ask you to participate in videos in collaboration with our videographers. Such arrangements will be discussed with you before and agreed upon separately. A consent form would be signed.
Pictures of your teeth are essential in communication with the dental laboratory that handmade dental restorations are required to ensure the best aesthetic results.
Use of patient contact details
At The Dentalist, the health of our patients is our highest priority, and we also like to keep our patients informed of various significant changes at the clinic and our latest special offers. We want to remind our patients of their appointments, appointments, and other various essential reminders when they are due for appointments. On this note, you may be periodically contacted by the clinic via phone, text, email or by letter in the post. If you DO NOT wish to be contacted by the clinic by any or all these means, please let us know.
No tolerance/Abuse policy
We operate a zero-tolerance policy to abuse our Dentists and staff, loud/disorderly/drunken behaviour, persistent missing and late cancellation of appointments (after multiple warnings). In these situations, The Dentalist reserves the right to refuse treatment and admission.
Data Protection Act
We store all patient personal details on a secure computer system following the Data Protection Act & GDPR. All clinical notes, digital radiographs, digital photographs etc., remain the property of The Dentalist and accessible to view. Copies of records, radiographs and photos can be made available on request.