New official data show 93.5% of recent private dental patients were satisfied with their care, challenging the picture presented by a Which? investigation limited to people who had experienced a problem.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 89.9% of recent NHS dental patients were satisfied with their care, rising to 93.5% among private patients. The ONS said the difference was statistically significant.
The self-reported data were collected between 21 July and 12 August 2026 as part of the Health Insight Survey. The satisfaction findings were based on 8,098 recent NHS dental patients and 8,336 recent private patients who were asked about dental appointments attended during the previous 28 days.
Who did Which? survey?
By comparison, the Which? investigation on hidden costs, treatment quality and complaints in private dentistry, surveyed 1,009 people, all of whom said they had experienced a problem with private dental treatment during the previous two years.
Among that selected group, 39% felt charges were excessive, 22% paid more than they had been quoted and 21% said upfront pricing was unclear.
A further 26% were dissatisfied with treatment quality and one in 10 said they had experienced a clinical mistake. Some respondents also reported feeling pressured to accept treatments or join monthly payment plans.
The concerns of those patients remain valid. However, The British Dental Association (BDA) said it was misleading to present the results as representative of the millions of patients receiving private dental care.
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.’
He added: ‘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.’
What happens when private dental care goes wrong?
Which? also found that 62% of its respondents had not complained to the practice about the problem they experienced.
The most commonly reported reasons included concern about damaging their relationship with their dentist and a belief that complaining would make no difference, both cited by 31%.
Which? called for private dental patients to have access to a mandatory independent ombudsman with the power to investigate disputes, make binding decisions and award redress.
Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said: ‘Our research found people facing unexpected bills, treatment problems and complaints that ended with little more than an apology, while some were too worried about damaging their relationship with their dentist to complain at all.
‘Private dental patients deserve the same level of protection as people using other essential services. The government and regulators must ensure that consumers can access a mandatory independent ombudsman for private dentistry, with powers to make binding decisions and award redress, alongside compulsory signposting to the complaints process.’
Patients can currently raise concerns with their dental practice before escalating unresolved complaints about private treatment to the Dental Complaints Service.
Why is private dentistry under scrutiny?
Private care now accounts for a substantial part of UK dental provision. Among dentists responding to the General Dental Council’s latest cumulative working-pattern survey, 20% provided private care only and a further 14% worked predominantly in private practice.
The balance also varies considerably across England. ONS estimates reported by Dentistry found that more adults had a private dentist than an NHS dentist in nine of England’s 36 integrated care board areas.
The scale of reliance on private care also strengthens the case for fundamental NHS dental contract reform. Read Dentistry’s extended analysis of what has changed and what still needs to happen.
In November 2025, the government ordered an investigation into the costs and practices of private dentistry. Dental supply chain expert Rasnaam Tiwana told Dentistry this was a sign of the public looking for a scapegoat for rising dental costs.
He said: ‘Dentistry has not become more expensive because dentists and owners suddenly developed a taste for excess profit and juicier EBITDA. It has become more expensive because the economic system around it has changed, and it’s government policy that has quietly shaped that change.’
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