How to Choose a Dentist in Edgware: Seven Questions Worth Asking Before You Register

Choosing a dentist usually happens at an awkward moment. You’ve just moved to the area, your old practice has closed or stopped answering the phone, or something has started to niggle after years of putting it off. You search, you open five websites, and they all say roughly the same things: gentle, modern, friendly, welcoming.

We’re a dental practice, so we are obviously not a neutral referee here. Rather than write “why we’re wonderful”, here are the seven questions we would ask of any practice before registering. Our own answers are below, in public and linked, so you can check them and hold us to the same standard you’d hold anyone else.

1. Can you see the full price list before you walk in?

Money is where trust between patients and dentists most often breaks down. Read the two- and three-star reviews of dental practices anywhere and the same story recurs: not “the dentistry was bad”, but “the bill was bigger than I expected”.

Many practices publish some prices, usually the examination and perhaps hygiene, and go quiet on exactly the work that costs the most. Crowns, implants and orthodontics become “from” prices or “price on application”, which tells you very little about what you’ll actually pay.

What good looks like: a complete published price list, and anything complex quoted in writing before treatment begins.

Our answer: our fee guide is our complete price list, the same numbers we quote on the phone and at the chair, with written treatment plans and no surprise add-ons. For big-ticket items, we itemise: our honest implant cost breakdown shows exactly what a £2,750+ single-tooth implant is made of, and how to compare quotes between practices like for like.

2. Who exactly will treat you, and will they still be there next year?

A practice is its people. Two things are worth checking. First, that clinicians are named, with GDC numbers you can verify on the GDC online register. Every UK dentist and hygienist must be registered. Second, continuity: where clinicians change frequently, no one person owns your long-term care. The dentist who knows your history spots the change in it.

Our answer: we are deliberately a small, named team, and you can meet all of us, GDC numbers included. I founded the practice and have over 30 years in dentistry across Brazil and the UK (GDC 155186); Dr Rosie Charles and our hygienists Bernita Shelley, Eastman-trained with 20+ years’ experience, and Isabel Puente complete the clinical team. You see the same people every visit: the clinician who fits your crown this year is the one reviewing it next year.

3. What does the check-up actually include?

Headline exam fees are not like for like. Some include X-rays, some charge them on top; some examinations are a brisk once-over, others are a proper assessment. Ask three things: how long is the appointment, are X-rays included or itemised, and is an oral cancer screen part of every examination?

Our answer: a new patient examination is £65 and takes around 45 minutes, unhurried on purpose. It includes an oral cancer screen as standard, with X-rays taken only when clinically warranted (£15 each, itemised). Routine exams thereafter are £50, children £25. What we look at, in detail ›

4. What happens when something goes wrong at 8 am?

The real test of a practice is not the planned appointment. It’s the cracked tooth on a Tuesday morning. Many websites are vague here: no published emergency fee, no promise about timing, nothing about whether you need to be an existing patient. Ask before you need it.

Our answer: we hold emergency slots back from the diary every working day, and an in-hours emergency appointment is a fixed £90, covering a focused examination, X-ray if needed, diagnosis, and pain relief or temporary treatment. Any follow-up treatment is quoted before we begin, at standard published fees. You don’t need to be registered with us. Details on the emergency page, and there’s a calm five-minute guide for the first hour of any dental emergency.

5. How do they treat nervous patients?

When patients are genuinely happy with a dentist, gentleness is almost always the reason. It is the most common thread in five-star reviews of any practice. But “we’re gentle with nervous patients” is easy to write. Ask what that actually means in practice: can the first appointment just be a conversation? Is there an agreed stop signal? What are the options for longer or complex treatment?

Our answer: a large part of our practice is built around nervous and phobic patients. First appointments can be exactly that: a chat, in the chair or out of it. We agree stop signals, explain as we go, and for complex treatment we can arrange IV sedation with a visiting anaesthetist. We wrote up our whole approach in the dental anxiety guide, including what to tell us and why we genuinely won’t judge you if it’s been years.

6. Is the ongoing cost predictable?

Routine dentistry is a running cost, and it’s worth knowing what a year looks like before you register. Practices that run a membership plan often don’t publish what it costs, which is odd, because a plan is precisely the thing that makes the maths predictable. And “0% finance available” means little without the term and limits attached.

Our answer is all published numbers. Our dental plans cost £5/month for children (6–12), £10/month for teens and £21.50/month (£258/year) for adults, including two exams, two hygiene visits and 10% off treatment (Invisalign excepted). That’s roughly what the same appointments cost pay-as-you-go, with the discount on top. For larger treatment, Chrysalis Finance offers 0% APR over 12 months on £350–£25,000, subject to status. We receive no commission on applications. If you have Bupa dental insurance, we’re in the Bupa network, so members can claim up to 10% off general treatment depending on their policy.

7. Do the practicalities fit your life?

Small frictions decide whether you actually go. Can you book online at midnight, or only by phone during hours you’re at work? Is there parking? Step-free access? If English isn’t your first language, will anything on the practice’s website meet you halfway?

Our answer: you can book online around the clock through our secure portal (every “Book Online” button on this site), or reach us by WhatsApp or phone. There’s free 30-minute parking in the parade directly outside (extendable via PayByPhone), a ramp entrance with wheelchair access throughout, and Edgware Station (Northern Line) is 0.7 miles away. And because our roots are Brazilian, our entire website is available in Brazilian Portuguese, covering every treatment page, FAQ and team bio.

Where to start, depending on what matters most

Frequently asked

Will you judge me if I haven’t seen a dentist in years?

No. We see patients every week who haven’t been in for five or ten years, and the conversation is always about where things are now, never a lecture about how you got here. Come as you are. We’ll prioritise honestly and move at your pace.

Do you take NHS patients?

No. We are a fully private practice, and we’d rather say that plainly than be discovered saying it. What it buys you is time: appointments are as long as the dentistry needs, and treatment is recommended on clinical grounds with every fee published upfront.

Is a newer practice a riskier choice?

We opened in 2022, and it’s a fair question. Our about page answers it head-on. The short version is that the clinical experience behind the practice is measured in decades, while the equipment is measured in years: digital scanners, modern radiography and on-site 3D CBCT imaging installed new from day one.

How do I check any dentist is genuinely qualified?

Look them up on the GDC online register. Registration is a legal requirement, and any practice should happily give you a clinician’s GDC number. Ours are on every team bio. Practices themselves must also be registered with the CQC, England’s health-care regulator, as we are.

What’s the easiest way to try you out?

Book a new patient examination: £65, around 45 minutes, no obligation beyond it. You’ll meet the team, get a written picture of where your teeth stand, and can decide from there. Book online any time, or just come in and say hello first.

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Whichever practice you choose, around here or anywhere else, ask the seven questions above and you’ll choose well. If you’d like our answers in person, get in touch or call 020 3971 2000.

— Dr Jacqueline Jacobs