Private dentist prices UK: check-up, hygienist, filling and crown

What the main providers charge

Private dentists set their own prices, and the same chain can charge different amounts in different towns. The table gives adult prices from each provider's own price page on 22 October 2026. "From" means the starting price. Bupa says complex cases can cost more and gives a fixed price before treatment starts.

Mydentist's footnotes say the free examination applies at selected practices only, regional differences may apply, and the white filling price covers cases where a white filling is clinically appropriate. Its white filling column is not split by size.

Bupa charges X-rays separately. It lists a simple X-ray from £23 at Trowbridge and Islington, from £24 at Newtownabbey and from £25 at Sale and Partick West. Islington charges £108 for a complex X-ray.

Root canal and extraction prices

The same price pages list root canal treatment and extractions, both band 2 work on the NHS in England at £76.60 a course.

A back-tooth root canal at Bupa Islington starts £1,323.40 above the NHS band 2 charge. At Bupa Trowbridge the gap is £663.40.

The NHS charge for the same work

On the NHS in England you pay per course of treatment, not per item, from 1 April 2026:

• Band 1, £27.90: examination, X-rays, fluoride and scaling when clinically needed.
• Band 2, £76.60: everything in band 1 plus fillings, root canal work and extractions.
• Band 3, £332.10: everything in bands 1 and 2 plus crowns, bridges and dentures.

The NHS band covers the X-rays and, when the dentist decides it is needed, the scale and polish. Private prices list these items one by one. If an NHS dentist says scaling is not clinically necessary, you pay for it privately.

How much more private care costs

Routine check-up. Bupa Trowbridge charges £96, which is £68.10 more than the £27.90 NHS band 1 charge. Wood Lane Dentistry charges £59.30, or £31.40 more.

Check-up and hygienist. At Wood Lane the two cost £142.30 together. An NHS band 1 course with clinically needed scaling costs £27.90, a difference of £114.40.

Two small white fillings. At Bupa Sale the starting price is £240 each, so £480 for two. On the NHS in England both fall inside one band 2 course at £76.60, a difference of £403.40.

One crown. Bupa Islington starts at £1,535 for a porcelain bonded crown. The NHS band 3 charge is £332.10, a difference of £1,202.90. Mydentist's £826 crown in England and Wales is £493.90 above the band 3 charge.

Scotland and Northern Ireland charge NHS patients 80% of the fee up to £384 a course, and Wales charges by care package, so the gap differs there. The dental charges by nation guide gives those figures.

Where private care can cost less

Mydentist offers a free examination at selected practices. For the examination alone this beats the £27.90 NHS band 1 charge in England. Anything after the examination is priced privately: £77 for a hygiene appointment and from £174 for a white filling in England and Wales. A course with one white filling at those prices costs at least £174, against £76.60 on the NHS in England, and each extra filling widens the gap.

Steps to compare prices before booking

1. Check whether a local NHS practice is taking patients. The finding an NHS dentist guide covers the NHS search.
2. Open the private practice's own price page, not a chain-wide average. Bupa prices differ between Islington and Sale by £39 for a new patient check-up.
3. Ask whether X-rays and a hygienist visit are included in the check-up price.
4. For treatment, ask for a written fixed price before you agree, as Bupa says it provides.
5. Enter the quote in the NHS vs private cost checker to see the difference from the NHS band.

Mistakes that cost money

Reading the "from" price as the final price. Starting prices rise for larger fillings. Bupa Sale lists a large white filling from £360 against £240 for a small one.

Trusting NHS figures on a private price page. One Bupa practice page checked on 22 October 2026 still showed £75.30 against an NHS white filling, the band 2 charge before 1 April 2026. The current figure is £76.60.

Paying privately for a scale and polish which an NHS course would include. Ask the NHS dentist whether scaling is clinically needed first.

Where the figures come from

Every private price is from the provider's own price page on 22 October 2026: mydentist's standard prices page, five Bupa Dental Care practice price pages and Wood Lane Dentistry's fees page. The NHS band charges are from NHSBSA knowledge base article KA-02003, and the band contents and scaling rule are from the NHS website page on understanding NHS dental charges. Dental payment plans are compared in dental plans vs pay as you go.