Which? survey finds private dental patients face weak complaints routes

Centre · 1Which? surveyed 1,009 adults who had experienced a problem, or whose dependents had, with private dental treatment in the previous two years, and warned that patients face a "broken" complaints system. 1 Mixed · 2The sample was drawn from 5,848 screened consumers, a problem incidence rate of 17%. 1 2 Centre · 1Of those polled, 39% felt costs were excessive, 22% paid more than quoted, 21% said pricing was unclear upfront, 26% were dissatisfied with treatment quality and 10% reported a direct clinical mistake by their dentist. 1

Centre · 1Some 16% reported high-pressure tactics and 11% said they were "forced" onto monthly payment plans. 1 Centre · 1Some 62% chose not to complain to their practice, most commonly from fear of damaging their relationship with their dentist (31%) or believing it would make no difference (31%). Of those who did complain, 46% received only a verbal apology, 27% were dissatisfied with how the complaint was handled and 30% with the outcome. 1 Centre · 1Patients must first complain to their practice, then can go to the Dental Complaints Service, which can facilitate mediation and make recommendations but cannot award compensation for pain, distress or inconvenience, and its recommendations are not legally binding. Only 9% escalated to the DCS, 5% to the General Dental Council and 1% took legal action; 63% of those who did not escalate felt it was pointless. 1

Mixed · 2One patient was quoted £3,400 for a root canal after a football injury, saw costs pass £10,000 after repeated failed treatments, recovered 66% through a DCS complaint, and did not seek more for fear of losing access to dental care. Another woman said she was "held ransom" over a disputed £125 fee when her practice refused to book check-ups for her and her child until she paid. 1 2 Centre · 1Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said private patients "can be left with nowhere meaningful to turn" and called on the government and regulators to ensure a mandatory independent ombudsman for private dentistry with binding decisions and power to award redress, plus compulsory signposting to the complaints process. 1 Mixed · 2British Dental Association chair Eddie Crouch said patients deserve transparency and an effective complaints process, but that Which? surveyed only people who had already had a problem, so it would be misleading to suggest the findings are representative of the millions treated privately each year, and that the overwhelming majority are satisfied. 1 2

Centre · 1Crouch also said the growth of private dentistry is the direct result of successive governments failing to fix and fund NHS dentistry. 1 Mixed · 2The Competition and Markets Authority launched a market study into private dental services this year covering competition, price transparency and complaints processes; the Mirror reports a CMA finding that private dentistry rose from 42% of the market in 2010 to 69% in 2025. 1 2 Left · 1The Mirror, which runs a Dentists for All campaign, added further patient accounts, NHS-versus-private price comparisons and funding context: NHS dental funding stayed around £3bn for over a decade, Labour raised it to £3.5bn for 2024/25, and the BDA says another £1.5bn is needed. It said the Department of Health and Social Care had been approached for comment. 2