Information for Patients

This page details key information about Westbury Smiles Dental Practice and the services that we provide. If you require any further information please contact us.

Dental Treatment and Services at the Practice

We provide dental care for adults and children and offer a full range of preventative, restorative and cosmetic dental treatments.

We provide a full range of private treatment that is not available on the NHS for example, for example, large white fillings in back teeth and cosmetic treatments such as teeth whitening.

We see patients by appointment only and appointments can be booked at our reception desk by phone or in person during surgery hours. You can choose which dentist you would like to see but this will affect the choice of appointments available. We have an extensive governance system to ensure the quality of the care you receive. Our governance system is continually reviewed and we are happy to explain any of our practice policies.

Our dentists and support staff undertake regular continuing education and training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

The practice is able to refer you on to other specialist dental services.

Communication

Good communication with our patients is very important to us and we take time to explain proposed treatment, any risks associated with it as well as available alternatives. There will always be time to ask questions about the treatment or any other aspect of care at the practice.

If you would like this or any other practice literature in another language or larger font please let one of our receptions know and they will be happy to help. We also offer a translation service; please let our receptionist know if you would like more detail as this needs to be organised in advance.

Patient Behaviour

Staff at Westbury Smiles will not tolerate any form of physical or verbal abuse, any person we consider to be behaving in this manner will not be seen at the practice.

Opening Hours

The practice is open during the following hours:

Access

We are a ground floor practice with wheelchair access throughout, including the patient facilities. We have illuminated magnifying devices for patients with visual impairment. Ask at our reception for more information.

Emergency Care

Patients who need to see a dentist quickly because of dental pain should call the practice during opening hours and they will be given advice and an appointment at the earliest possible opportunity. The appointments are offered on a first come, first serve basis. We will need you to call as early as possible in the morning to get an appointment that suits your needs.

Patients who have a dental emergency when the practice is closed should call our reception and a recorded message will give details of the NHS emergency out of hour’s service available. The telephone number is 111. This is an emergency service provided by the NHS.

Choice of Practitioner

As our patient you have the right to express a preference of practitioner. You can find them listed below. If you would like to specify then please speak to your dentist or our reception team either in person or by telephone.

Paying for Your Dental Treatment

At the practice we ask for a deposit towards any dental and hygiene appointments that you would like to book. We take payment by cash, cheque, debit and credit cards. Regrettably we charge for all failed appointments and then ask for payment in full before we are able to book anymore appointments. We will decline to treat patients who repeatedly fail to attend appointments, repeatedly cancel or change appointments without 24 hours notice or are abusive to our staff members.

Cancellations

If you have to cancel or re-arrange an appointment we require 48 hours notice otherwise a cancellation fee will be charged. The fee is calculated by how much surgery time is wasted in our appointment book and is charged at a rate of £200 per hour.

Reminders and Recalls

When you finish your course of treatment, your dentist will recommend when you should attend the practice for your next exam. Our dentists follow guidelines set out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. This means you will be advised to attend as often as needed which depends on how healthy your teeth and gums are. To assist patients we offer an appointment reminder service. We remind patients two days before the appointment but urge patients to remember this is offered as a courtesy service and we ask patients not to depend on this. In order to offer an efficient service we need patients to remember to update their contact details if there is any change and we take no responsibility for missed appointments if we are unable to contact you. We may also ask you to fill in a confidentiality consent form as we are unable to discuss your appointment details with anyone unless you have specified their name in writing.

Your Responsibilities as a Patient

Information About You

In order to provide you with a high standard of dental care, we need to hold personal information about you. This practice complies with the 1998 Data Protection Act and the Confidentiality NHS code of practice, our data protection policy describes our procedures for ensuring that personal information about patients is processed fairly and lawfully and kept confidential. However from time to time we may need to release information to our local NHS area team or other NHS organisations. Only staff members who need to, have access to your records. Your permission will be sought to pass on your details to a third party. On request we are happy to provide you with a copy of your records, please speak to a member of staff for further details on the request procedure and costs involved.

To comply with the “Freedom of Information Act 2000” Westbury Smiles has adopted the British Dental Association Model Scheme. Please contact the practice for further information or for FOIA requests.

Patient Feedback and Complaints

All the team at Westbury Smiles are keen to respond to your requirements and concerns. We value your comments, whether about the practice, its staff or the care or service provided at the practice.

If there are any issues, please talk to our staff who will deal with the complaint according to our complaints policy which is displayed in our reception. We treat all complaints with confidence and will provide you with a copy of your complaint, a copy of our complaint procedure and will keep you informed of the progress in solving any issues raised.

Alternatively you may want to contact:
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP
or
Dental Complaints Service, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ

If you are pleased with the care and treatment you receive from our practice please recommend us to family, friends or work colleagues as we welcome new patients.