Dental Treatment

Private

An independent complaints service for private dental treatment is operated by the General Dental Council (GDC), the regulatory body for UK dentists. The service aims to enhance patient protection and promote high standards of private dentistry in the UK.

Resolving complaints can involve recommending an apology, a refund of fees and/or a contribution by a dental practice towards the costs of remedial treatment.

The Dental Complaints Service is there to help dental patients resolve complaints about private dental care as fairly, efficiently, transparently and quickly as possible. The service also helps dental professionals to improve the quality of service they provide.

Dissatisfied dental patients who call the Dental Complaints Service are first encouraged to use their dental practice's own complaints procedures, if they have not already done so. If a complaint remains unresolved, Dental Complaints Service advisers will discuss it directly with the patient and dental professional concerned.

If the adviser cannot resolve matters, the complaint will go to one of a series of regional panels, consisting of two members of the public (lay volunteers) and one dental professional volunteer, who will advise the lay panel members on clinical issues. The panel will meet with the dentist and complainant and recommend how best to resolve the complaint, with the emphasis being on resolving complaints using common sense.  Serious complaints - which raise issues about patient safety and whether a practitioner should be allowed to continue practising - will continue to be dealt with by the GDC.

Who to contact

Dental patients can contact the Dental Complaints Service by calling 08456 120 540 (local rate), visiting www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk, or e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The service can also supply contact details for complaints about NHS dental care.

NHS

If you wish to make a complaint about the care or service provided by your dentist or dentists' surgery, contact the person responsible for the practice complaints procedure.
Your dentist will try to resolve your complaint at this stage.
If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Further information about making a complaint is available from the Patients Advice and Liaison Services (PALS), your local Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS) and the Department of Health website.  
If you wish to make a complaint about private dental services, you should contact the General Dental Council on 08456 120 540 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it