According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), around 1 in 5 people in Great Britain used private dental care in 2024, so you would not be alone if you were considering doing so too.

Our teeth and general oral health play an important role in our overall health, so ensuring we're doing what we can to look after them is a good idea.

Although the government has announced plans to improve the situation, many people find getting access to an NHS dentist to be difficult or even impossible. In that situation your options can seem limited.

Guides for helping your decision about dentistry

Dentistry is not a part of the healthcare system that PHIN is authorised to collect data about, so we can't publish information to help you choose a dentist in the same way we do for private hospitals and consultants. However, we know the first time many people use private health is to see a dentist and want to help as much as we can.

We've written a guide to help you understand the how dentistry works across the UK, including the differences between an NHS dentist and private one. For instance, did you know you may have to pay for dental treatment even if you're seeing an NHS dentist, though it's likely to be less than you'd pay to go private? However, some options might actually be cheaper privately (like custom night guards)!

If you are considering travelling outside the UK for dental treatment , we recommend you read our guide first, so that you are aware of the risks and know which questions to ask.

Further reading

In March 2026, the CMA launched a market study into the £8 billion private dentistry sector to make sure it is working well for UK consumers: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-launches-review-of-private-dentistry