NHS Dental Charges 2026: Band 1, 2 and 3 Prices Explained

Reviewed and updated 12 August 2026 · By the DentistTracker team

NHS dental charges in England are set at three fixed bands. From 1 April 2026, Band 1 costs £27.90 and covers a check-up, Band 2 costs £76.60 and adds treatment such as fillings and extractions, and Band 3 costs £332.10 and adds lab-made items such as crowns and dentures. Urgent treatment has its own flat charge of £27.90.

You pay one charge per course of treatment — the highest band you need — however many appointments it takes. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each use a different system, and many people qualify for free treatment altogether. Here is how it all works.

What are the 3 NHS dental charge bands in England?

According to the NHS website, these are the charges in England from 1 April 2026:

If your course of treatment mixes bands — say a check-up, two fillings and a crown — you pay only the highest band involved. In that example you would pay £332.10 in total, not three separate charges.

The urgent charge applies when you need to be seen quickly for a problem such as severe toothache. If any follow-up work is needed afterwards, that becomes a new course of treatment charged at the normal band. If you are struggling to get seen at short notice, our emergency dentist guide explains your options, including NHS 111. If you ever have swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing, call 999 — that is a medical emergency, not a dental appointment.

Which band is my treatment in?

These are the bands for the most common treatments in England:

Remember the price is per course of treatment, not per item. Three fillings in one course still cost £76.60 in total. Your dentist should give you a written treatment plan showing the band and cost before work starts, so ask if anything is unclear.

One charge per course: how the 2-month rule works

A course of treatment covers everything your dentist identifies you need at your assessment, even if it takes several appointments to complete. You pay the single band charge once for the whole course.

There is also a useful follow-up rule. According to the NHS website, if you need more treatment at the same band or a lower band within 2 months of completing a course, you do not pay again. So if a filling is sorted in March and you need another filling in April, that second visit should be free. After 2 months, new treatment is charged as a new course.

Some things carry no charge at all: having stitches removed, treatment to stop bleeding in your mouth, and repairs to dentures are all free on the NHS in England.

Who gets free NHS dental treatment?

Roughly speaking, you pay nothing for NHS dental treatment in England if any of these apply when your treatment starts:

• You are under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education
• You are pregnant, or have had a baby in the last 12 months
• You are being treated by an NHS hospital dentist (though you may still pay for dentures or bridges)
• You or your partner receive certain income-related benefits, including the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, or Universal Credit with take-home pay below a set threshold
• You hold an HC2 certificate under the NHS Low Income Scheme (an HC3 certificate gives partial help)

The rules have detail worth checking before you tick an exemption box, because claiming free treatment you are not entitled to can lead to a penalty charge. Our guide to free NHS dental treatment covers every exemption in full, and the NHS Business Services Authority has an online eligibility checker.

NHS dental charges for pensioners

A common surprise: pensioners are not automatically exempt from NHS dental charges in England. There is no upper age at which treatment becomes free, and receiving the State Pension on its own does not qualify you.

What does qualify you is the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit. If you receive Guarantee Credit (including Guarantee Credit paid alongside Savings Credit), your NHS dental treatment is free. Savings Credit on its own does not count. If you are on a low income but not receiving Pension Credit, you can apply to the NHS Low Income Scheme for an HC2 or HC3 certificate instead.

Age does make a difference elsewhere in the UK. In Wales, dental examinations are free if you are 60 or over, although treatment is still charged. In Scotland, NHS dental examinations are free for everyone at any age.

How charges differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Wales

Wales moved away from the old banded system when its new dental contract took effect in April 2026. According to the Welsh Government, patients now pay a charge for each element of care — for example £37.50 for urgent care, £27.21 for a new patient assessment, £25 for a recall appointment and £140.44 for a crown — with a maximum total charge of £384 for a course of treatment. Examinations are free if you are under 25 or aged 60 and over, and treatment is free for under-18s, 18-year-olds in full-time education, pregnant women and those who have had a baby in the previous 12 months, among others. See our Wales guide for how to find a practice there.

Scotland

According to NHS Inform, NHS dental examinations are free for everyone in Scotland, and NHS dental treatment is free if you are under 26. If you do pay, you pay 80% of the cost of your treatment, capped at £384 per course. Our Scotland guide has more on how the system works there.

Northern Ireland

According to nidirect, patients in Northern Ireland who are not exempt pay 80% of the cost of their Health Service dental treatment, up to a maximum of £384 per course. Treatment is free if you are under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education, alongside the usual benefit-related exemptions.

Can you be charged for missing an appointment?

No. According to the NHS website, dentists should not charge you a fee for missing an NHS dental appointment. That said, repeatedly missing appointments or arriving late can lead the practice to end your course of treatment, and they may decide not to offer you NHS appointments in future. With NHS capacity as tight as it is, giving as much notice as possible when you cancel keeps you on good terms with your practice.

Do you pay for prescriptions from the dentist?

If your dentist gives you an NHS prescription — antibiotics for an infection, for example — the medicine is charged separately at the pharmacy. The NHS prescription charge in England is currently £9.90 per item, unless you qualify for free prescriptions. Prescription exemptions are not identical to dental exemptions, so check both.

Knowing the price is half the job — now find a dentist

The charges above only matter once you have a practice willing to see you. Practices report their own acceptance status to the NHS website and are asked to confirm it at least every 90 days, which means listings can lag behind reality. DentistTracker checks the NHS data every day, so you can search practices near you that are currently accepting new NHS patients and spend your time ringing the ones most likely to say yes.