Dental Complaints

Your first port of call with an NHS dentist complaint is to go through the practice team directly, whether that’s by complaining to the practice manager or the dentist that completed the work. You should follow the official NHS complaints procedure, and you can raise a grievance in writing, via email or by speaking to someone in person.

All NHS complaints should be made within one year of the treatment that you’re complaining about. If you’re concerned about making a formal complaint to the practice directly, you can also contact NHS England instead.

When complaining to your dentist, they should follow the official NHS complaints procedure, with regulations set out by the NHS themselves. The dental practice should be able to provide you with a copy of this complaints procedure – you can also head to the NHS Choices website for more information.

If you’ve tried making a complaint to the NHS dentist or branch manager and the outcome has not been satisfactory, there are several further steps you can take. As previously stated, you can escalate to NHS England if you haven’t managed to resolve your complaint with the practice itself. The dental complaint still needs to be made within one year of the related treatment occurring.

As well as complaining to NHS England, you can speak to the commissioner of the service in question – the commissioner is the body that pays for the NHS service used for your dental treatment. To find your local commissioner, contact NHS England on their website and they’ll be able to help you find the correct team.

If you’d prefer to go straight down the legal route instead of making an NHS complaint, contact Dental Law and we’ll go through your case to see if we can help you make a claim.

If your treatment was carried out by a private dentist, the process will be a little different when making a complaint. However, it’s still recommended that you contact the dentist who carried out the treatment or the practice manager first. Instead of following the NHS guidelines, the practice will have its own complaints procedure to follow. The practice manager can provide you with this information upon request.

If you find yourself disappointed with the way your complaint has been handled and want to escalate it further, the next step would be to contact the Dental Complaints Service (DCS).

The DCS offers an independent complaints service. They are funded by the General Dental Council (GDC), who are the regulatory body for UK dentists.

As with NHS complaints, you don’t have to make a complaint to your private dentist in order to make a legal claim.

The Dental Complaints Service (DCS) is an advisory team created specifically for private dental patients (they do not handle NHS dentist complaints). The DCS is the escalation phase if you’ve tried making a complaint to your dental practice directly and it’s been left unresolved, or if you don’t want to go through your dentist at all.

The DCS offers a free and impartial service, which is funded by the General Dental Council – the main independent organisation within the UK that regulates the dental industry. They launched in 2006 and have their own criteria and complaints procedure to run through when dealing with a dental complaint – the majority of their cases are resolved within one week.

In 2013, the DCS announced a 12-month time limit for reporting complaints. It’s therefore important that you seek advice or report any suspected dental negligence without delay.

If the time limit has elapsed and you haven’t made a complaint, you may still be able to raise a legal claim with Dental Law.

The General Dental Council (GDC) may also be able to help you if you have a dental complaint. As previously stated, the GDC is an independent organisation that regulates dentists in the UK. They fund the private Dental Complaints Service.

Part of the GDC’s role is to register qualified dental professionals, checking to make sure they’re competent and qualified to work in a dental practice. They also set dental standards and work to improve dental education, as well as resolving complaints. They follow the guidelines set out in the Dentists Act 1984, which provides a legal framework for dental treatment in the UK.

All dentists and dental professionals based within the UK have to be registered with the GDC to practise. If you suspect your dentist is working illegally, you can also make a complaint and their registration status will be checked. The GDC will take action if a dental professional’s ability or behaviour means that it is not suitable for them to continue working.

The GDC will usually only investigate complaints if there appears to be a safety risk involved or if damage to public confidence in the dentistry profession may result.

The investigation process can take up to 18 months if needed, making it the lengthiest course to pursue action. The GDC only cover certain complaints – a full list can be found here.

If your complaint isn’t covered or you’d rather apply for compensation instead, contact Dental Law and we’ll run you through the process of making a claim.

Private patients are not covered by the NHS complaints system so the General Dental Council created the Dental Complaints Service to offer them support.

The DCS comprises former GDC employees. It is also funded by the GDC and held accountable to them. To ensure that the DCS is performing adequately, the GDS will subject them to review where operational improvements may be suggested.