OUR POLICIES

​ATTENDANCE POLICY

To serve all our patients efficiently, we ask that you follow our attendance guidelines:

• Regular attendance – Your attendance at our practice must be regular in order to maintain your registration with us. The NHS and British Dental Association recommend check-ups approximately every 6 months.

• Please arrive on time – Late attendance may mean we are unable to see you that day, and repeated late attendance may result in dismissal from our practice.

• 24 hours notice – Please let us know at least 24 hours in advance if you’re unable to make your appointment.

• Missed appointments – If you fail to attend two consecutive appointments or have a history of missed appointments with us, this may result in dismissal from our practice.

 

LOOKING AFTER YOUR DENTAL REGISTRATION AND THE “2-YEAR” NHS RULE

Finding a place with an NHS dentist is becoming increasingly difficult. This is why it’s so important to look after your NHS dental registration with us. In short, there are two crucial points to remember;

• Do not miss an appointment

• Do not allow more than two years to lapse between your routine check-ups

Our best advice is to book your next check-up appointment in before you leave the practice. In general, we advise you to be seen for check-ups every 6 months. We understand that booking your next appointment this much in advance seems like overkill, but we do send out reminders nearer the time of your appointment to help you remember.

We have a huge number of people on our waiting list wishing to receive NHS funded dental care, and therefore we have no choice but to remove existing NHS patients who haven’t attended for more than 2 years, or who have a poor attendance record with us. This way, we can make space for patients who will attend regularly and value their NHS registration.

As a practice we do our best to send out regular recall reminders to give you the best chance at keeping your attendance up, but please remember that your attendance with us is your responsibility and the reminders we send out are simply a goodwill gesture.

Furthermore, if your home address or contact details change, then it’s your responsibility to let us know, otherwise you may not receive our reminders.

We want to continue looking after our existing NHS patients to the best of our ability, and with your cooperation we are confident we can continue doing so.