Guide · Registering with a dentist

How to find and register with a dentist in Edinburgh

New to Edinburgh, here to study, or under 26 and not sure what you are entitled to? This guide explains how finding and registering with a dentist works in Scotland, what it costs, and how to book your first appointment with us at City Dental Care, in Edinburgh city centre.

Finding a dentist in four steps

1. Decide on NHS, private, or both. NHS dental examinations are free for everyone in Scotland, and in Scotland you are entitled to mix NHS and private care in one treatment plan.
2. Check real availability, not just an open list. A place on a list is only worth having if you can get an appointment. Before you register anywhere, find out when the first new patient examination actually is, and whether it is at a time you can make.
3. Book your first examination. That first visit is where registration happens; there are no forms to fill in before you book.
4. Keep coming back. In Scotland your registration does not lapse, so once you are registered, check-ups are simply a matter of booking them.

How registering with an NHS dentist works in Scotland

To register with us as an NHS patient, book a New Patient NHS Exam online or call us on 0131 228 2442. Our page for anyone looking for an NHS dentist in Edinburgh has the booking button. There are no forms to complete before you book: registration happens as part of your first visit. At that appointment your dentist examines your teeth and gums, takes any X-rays needed, and explains what, if anything, needs doing and what it costs, before anything happens.

Our NHS list is open and there is no waiting list: new NHS patients book directly into available appointments online and choose a time that suits them. Because you pick from real appointment times, you can see when your first examination would be before you book it.

Registration in Scotland does not lapse. Once you are registered with a dentist you stay registered, unless you are formally deregistered, or you register with another dentist and are seen by them under the NHS. So if you were registered with a dentist elsewhere in Scotland, there is nothing to cancel first: your registration moves at your first NHS examination with your new dentist. Our analysis of NHS dental access in Scotland explains how that works, and NHS & You sets out what NHS treatment covers.

Students and under-26s

NHS dental examinations are free for everyone in Scotland. If you are under 26 you are also exempt from NHS treatment charges, so NHS treatment costs you nothing either. Pregnant women and new mothers, and people on certain benefits, are exempt too. Everyone else pays 80% of the NHS fee for each item of treatment, capped at £384 for a single course of treatment.

Booking an NHS examination online takes a refundable £10 appointment-holding fee (credited against any treatment, or refunded in full if you need none or are exempt); booking by phone carries no holding fee. If you are under 26 you are exempt, so the £10 is refunded in full.

Lectures, shifts and part-time work rarely leave the middle of the day free. We are open 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am to 5pm on Fridays, on the NHS and privately, and online booking runs 24 hours a day, so you can book whenever you get round to it.

Just moved to Edinburgh?

If you have moved here from elsewhere in the UK, NHS dentistry in Scotland may work differently from what you are used to: examinations are free for everyone, treatment is charged item by item at 80% of the NHS fee up to the cap above, under-26s pay nothing, and your registration stays in place once you have it. If you have moved within Scotland, you do not need to deregister from your old dentist first.

We are at 9 Earl Grey Street, EH3 9BN, in Edinburgh city centre: on Lothian Road at Tollcross, a short walk from Haymarket Station, with buses along Earl Grey Street and Lothian Road stopping close by. Directions are on our contact page.

NHS or private?

Most people looking for a dentist start with the NHS, and our NHS list is open. Private care is there if you prefer it: a new patient private examination is £85, including X-rays, and treatments chosen mainly for appearance are private only. In Scotland you can combine the two in a hybrid treatment plan, and choosing something privately never affects your NHS registration with us. Our guide to NHS versus private dentistry in Scotland sets out the differences.

What to check before you register anywhere

• When is the first appointment, really? Ask for the date of the first new patient examination, or look at the times online, rather than settling for a yes.
• Can you book without ringing? If booking depends on somebody answering the phone during working hours, it can be hard to arrange around a timetable or a shift.
• Are there appointments outside working hours, on the NHS as well as privately? Ask directly.
• What does the first visit cost? In Scotland an NHS examination is free, so ask about any booking fee and whether it is refunded.
• What happens if something goes wrong? Ask how urgent problems are handled, and what to do when the practice is closed.

How we do it: our new patient appointment times are online for anyone to see, and you can book them at any hour; evening appointments are on the NHS and privately; an NHS examination is free and the online holding fee is refundable, as above; and for urgent problems, reception will do their best to see you the same day.

In pain before you have registered?

Swelling, trauma, spontaneous and unprovoked pain, or an abscess all count as a dental emergency. Call us first on 0131 228 2442 and we’ll do our best to see you the same day. You don’t need to be registered with us for a private emergency appointment, which is £85, including any X-rays needed, a temporary filling or dressing to settle the pain, and a prescription if one is needed. If you need an extraction, it's booked separately, with the fee confirmed first. The dentist explains the options and any cost before any treatment starts, and further treatment is quoted in writing.

NHS emergency appointments are for patients registered with us: once you have had your first NHS examination with us, you can be seen as an NHS emergency patient. When we are closed, phone NHS 24 on 111, and if swelling is affecting your breathing or swallowing, call 999 or go to A&E. Our emergency dental care page has the details.

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