NHS dental charges 2026/27: Band 1, 2 and 3 costs explained

NHS dental charges 2026/27. You pay one charge per course of treatment, no matter how many appointments it takes. Source: DHSC, NHS England.

These are the NHS dental charges in England from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. They are the same at every NHS practice, in London and everywhere else in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own charges.

The most important rule is simple. You pay once for a course of treatment, and you pay the charge for the highest band in it. You never add the bands together.

How the bands work in practice

A “band” is a price level. Each band includes everything in the band below it. Here are 3 common visits:

• A check-up, and nothing is wrong. You pay Band 1: £27.90. This includes X-rays and a scale and polish if the dentist thinks you need one.
• A check-up, and you need 2 fillings. You pay Band 2: £76.60. That is the total. You do not pay £27.90 for the check-up as well, and the second filling costs nothing extra.
• A check-up, a filling and a crown. You pay Band 3: £332.10. Again, that is the total for the whole course.

A course of treatment starts with the examination and ends when the dentist has finished the work they planned. It can take 1 appointment or 6. The practice may ask you to pay at the start or at the end.

When you do not pay again

Two rules protect you from paying twice.

The 2-month rule. If you need more treatment within 2 months of finishing a course, and it is in the same band or a lower one, you pay nothing more. If it is in a higher band, you pay the difference.

The 12-month guarantee. Some NHS work is guaranteed for 12 months: fillings, root fillings, inlays, porcelain veneers and crowns. If one fails or falls out in that time, the same practice must repair or replace it free. There are exceptions. The guarantee does not cover a temporary filling, damage from an accident, or a tooth that has had private treatment since. It also does not apply if the dentist advised a different treatment and you chose this one.

Urgent NHS treatment costs £27.90

Urgent care is charged at the Band 1 rate, however much work it takes on the day. That covers things like draining an abscess, a temporary filling, taking out a badly broken tooth, or treating severe pain.

Urgent care deals with the immediate problem. It does not finish the job. If you then need a permanent filling or a crown, that is a new course of treatment with its own charge. You can have the follow-up work at a different practice.

You do not need to be registered with a practice to get urgent NHS care. In fact, NHS dental practices do not register patients the way GPs do. Call NHS 111 and they will find a practice with an urgent appointment. Since April 2026, every practice with an NHS contract must keep part of its NHS work for urgent patients. So a practice that says “no new NHS patients” may still see you urgently. Our emergency dentist page lists London options.

New in 2026: care pathways for serious decay and gum disease

From 23 June 2026, the NHS has 3 “care pathways” for adults with a lot of dental disease. A pathway is a planned package of treatment over 6 to 12 months, rather than one appointment at a time.

You may be offered one if you are 16 or over and you have:

• decay in 5 or more teeth, or
• decay in 5 or more teeth and unstable gum disease, or
• serious gum disease diagnosed for the first time (the dentist will call this Stage III or Grade C periodontitis).

Most people on a pathway pay one Band 2 charge (£76.60) for the whole pathway. If you also need Band 3 work such as a crown, you pay one Band 3 charge in total. Before June 2026, the same amount of treatment could mean several separate charges.

The dentist decides whether you meet the criteria. If you have been told you need a lot of work, it is fair to ask whether a care pathway applies. The pathways are part of wider changes to NHS dentistry this year, which we cover in our guide to the 2026 NHS dental contract changes. Our guide to NHS dental care pathways explains who qualifies, what you get and what to ask.

Who gets NHS dental treatment free

About half of all NHS courses of treatment go to people who pay nothing. In 2023/24 the figure was 48.6%, and that includes children. Your treatment is free if, when it starts, you are:

• under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education
• pregnant, or you have had a baby in the last 12 months
• an NHS hospital inpatient treated by the hospital dentist
• getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• getting Universal Credit, and your earnings in the last assessment period were under the limit
• named on a valid HC2 certificate from the Low Income Scheme

There are a few other groups too, such as some war pensioners. Old tax credit exemption certificates no longer count, because tax credits ended in April 2025. Age is not on the list. There is no free NHS dental care at 60, 65 or 70. We explain this in our guide to dental treatment for over-60s. For every group in more detail, see is the NHS dentist free?

The Low Income Scheme

The Low Income Scheme is the help people most often miss. It is not based on benefits. The NHS looks at your income, savings and costs. You apply on form HC1, online or on paper.

You get one of 2 certificates:

• HC2: full help. All your NHS dental treatment is free.
• HC3: partial help. The certificate says the most you have to pay for a course of treatment. You pay the band charge or that amount, whichever is lower.

Certificates last from 6 months to 5 years, and you can apply again. Students, people on low pay and pensioners just above the Pension Credit limit often qualify and do not know it.

Check before you tick the box

To claim free treatment, you tick a box on a form at the practice. The practice does not check it. The NHS Business Services Authority checks later, against benefit records.

If you tick the wrong box, you pay the charge plus a penalty of up to £100. This happens even when the mistake is honest. We see 3 mistakes again and again:

1. Claiming because your partner gets a benefit, when you are not named on the claim.
2. Still claiming after your benefit has stopped.
3. Thinking Universal Credit always means free treatment. It only does if your earnings were under the limit.

If you are not sure, pay the charge and claim a refund later. Ask the practice for form HC5(D) and send it with your receipt within 3 months of paying.

What the NHS does not pay for

NHS bands only cover treatment you need for your mouth to be healthy. They do not cover treatment for appearance. That usually means no NHS:

• teeth whitening
• veneers or composite bonding
• braces or clear aligners for adults, unless there is a clear medical need
• implants, except in rare cases such as after mouth cancer or a serious accident

White fillings on back teeth are sometimes available on the NHS and sometimes not. Ask before treatment starts.

NHS charges compared with private prices in London

NHS charges: DHSC. Private medians: the lowest price each practice publishes on its own website, from 1,279 London practices in the Dentist-London.com directory.

Private prices in the table are “from” prices. A back tooth usually costs more than a front tooth, and some materials cost more. Even so, the gap is large. A private root canal costs about 6 times the NHS charge. Our dental price list has every treatment we hold prices for, with the cheapest and dearest borough for each.

The NHS price is only useful if you can get an appointment. In 2025/26, 36.9% of adults in London saw an NHS dentist. That is fewer than 4 in 10. It varies a lot by borough. In Westminster it was 26.8%, about 1 in 4. In Lewisham it was 45.6%, nearly 1 in 2. Our page on NHS dental access in London has the figure for every borough.

If the practice says it has no NHS places

• Ask if they can see you as an urgent NHS patient. Many can, even with a closed list.
• Call NHS 111 for urgent problems.
• Look further than your own borough. You can go to any NHS practice, not only the nearest one. We list London practices last reported as taking new NHS patients, by borough.
• Ask to go on the waiting list. Places do open during the year.

Frequently asked questions

How much is an NHS dental check-up in 2026?

£27.90. A check-up is Band 1. It includes X-rays and a scale and polish if your dentist thinks you need one.

How much is an NHS filling in 2026?

£76.60. Fillings are Band 2. The charge is the same for 1 filling or several, and it includes the check-up.

How much is an NHS crown in 2026?

£332.10. Crowns are Band 3. That one charge also covers any check-up, fillings or other Band 1 and 2 work in the same course of treatment.

How much is emergency NHS dental treatment?

£27.90. Urgent treatment is charged at the Band 1 rate. Any follow-up work, such as a permanent filling, is charged separately.

Do pensioners get free NHS dental treatment?

Not because of their age. A pensioner gets free treatment if they receive Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or have an HC2 certificate from the Low Income Scheme. Pensioners with a small income just above the Pension Credit limit should apply to the Low Income Scheme.

Do I pay again if my filling falls out?

Usually not, if it happens within 12 months. NHS fillings, root fillings, inlays, porcelain veneers and crowns are guaranteed for 12 months, and the practice that did the work must repair or replace them free. This does not apply to temporary fillings or damage from an accident.

What is an NHS dental care pathway?

A planned package of treatment for adults with decay in 5 or more teeth or serious gum disease. It started on 23 June 2026. Most patients pay one Band 2 charge of £76.60 for the whole pathway, which lasts 6 or 12 months.

Do children pay for NHS dental treatment?

No. NHS dental treatment is free for everyone under 18, and for under-19s in full-time education.

Are NHS dental charges the same everywhere in England?

Yes. The charges are set nationally and every NHS practice in England uses them. Private prices are not controlled and vary from practice to practice.

NHS charges are set by the Department of Health and Social Care and are correct for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Private prices are medians from our directory and change as practices update their websites. Ask the practice for a written quote before you start treatment. For dental costs beyond the NHS, see our guide to what a dentist costs in London.