The British Dental Association has said patients have every right to expect transparency over costs and an effective complaints process, but warned against using the experiences of an unrepresentative group of dissatisfied patients to paint a misleading picture of private dentistry as a whole.
The Which? survey was conducted exclusively among 1,009 people who said they had experienced a problem with private dental treatment in the previous two years. The BDA stresses that findings from this group cannot be meaningfully extrapolated to the millions of patients receiving private dental care across the UK.
Polling conducted by YouGov earlier this year found that 84% of patients who had received private dental care in the previous five years were satisfied with that care. [1]
Dentists are already subject to extensive professional regulation and have clear obligations to communicate treatment options and costs to patients. Where treatment plans change, dentists should explain the clinical reasons and any implications for costs. Practices are also expected to operate clear complaints procedures, and concerns about private treatment can be escalated to the Dental Complaints Service.
The BDA says it will engage constructively with proposals to improve the existing complaints system, provided any changes are proportionate, avoid unnecessary duplication and work fairly for both patients and dental professionals.
BDA Chair Eddie Crouch said: “Every dental patient deserves safe, high-quality care, clear information about costs and somewhere meaningful to turn when they’re not satisfied.
“But these findings need to be put firmly in perspective. Which? set out to survey people who had already experienced a problem with private dental care. It would be entirely misleadingly to suggest their experiences are representative of the millions of patients treated by private dentists every year.
“Dentists work incredibly hard to maintain the trust of their patients. The evidence is clear the overwhelming majority are satisfied with the care they receive.”
Which? cite that private dentistry has grown from 42% of the market in 2010 to 69% in 2025. driven largely by declining access to NHS dental appointments. The BDA stress this is the direct results of choices made by successive governments in the period. Eddie Crouch added:
“There is an elephant in the room here. The extraordinary growth of private dentistry is the direct consequence of successive governments failing to fix and fund NHS dentistry.
“Millions have few options because a core part of our health service has been left to wither.”
