How our Preventive Plan works — and why it pays for itself

The question nobody wants to ask

This is a well-documented psychological pattern called ambiguity aversion. Research consistently shows that people fear the unknown cost more than the actual cost. When patients finally see our fee guide, the most common response is: "That's it? I thought it would be much worse."

So let's remove the ambiguity entirely.

What this means in real terms

Our Preventive Plan, powered by DPAS, is not insurance. It's a straightforward membership that spreads the cost of routine care across the year. Here's exactly what you get every year:

THE DIFFERENCE IS NEGLIGIBLE — BUT THE PLAN ADDS EMERGENCY COVER, THE TREATMENT DISCOUNT, ROUTINE X-RAYS, AND SOMETHING EVEN MORE VALUABLE…

• Two full dental check-ups with your dentist
• Two hygienist appointments (scale and polish, gum health assessment, personalised home care advice)
• All routine digital X-rays taken during check-ups
• Worldwide dental emergency cover (if something goes wrong on holiday, you're covered)
• 10% off any additional treatments you need

What this means in real terms: if you were to pay for these appointments individually, two check-ups and two hygiene visits would cost approximately £220–£260 per year. The Preventive Plan costs £258 per year (£21.50 × 12).

The difference is negligible — but the plan adds emergency cover, the treatment discount, and something even more valuable: the removal of decision fatigue. Your appointments are booked, your care is scheduled, and you never have to weigh up whether you "can afford" a check-up. It's already covered.

The hidden cost of pay-as-you-go

There's nothing wrong with our Pay As You Go option — many patients prefer it. But there's a psychological trap worth understanding.

When dental care is paid per visit, every appointment becomes a spending decision. And when budgets are tight — or when you're not in pain — the easiest thing to cut is the thing that doesn't feel urgent. "I'll skip this check-up. I'll go next time."

This is called present bias — the tendency to prioritise short-term savings over long-term benefit. It's the same reason people cancel gym memberships they never use. The monthly cost feels real; the future benefit feels abstract.

The problem is that skipped check-ups have compounding consequences. A small cavity caught early is a £90–£150 filling. The same cavity caught two years later might be a £300–£600 crown. Caught even later, it could become a root canal treatment (£450–£750) or an extraction followed by an implant (£2,500+).

Prevention is not just better medicine. It's dramatically cheaper medicine.

"But what if I need expensive treatment?"

This is the fear behind the fear — that you'll walk in for a check-up and walk out with a treatment plan you can't afford.

Here's how we handle this:

Complete transparency before anything starts. After your examination, we'll give you a written treatment plan with every cost itemised. No surprises, no hidden fees, no "we'll see how it goes." You'll know exactly what's recommended, what it costs, and what happens if you choose to wait.

Phased treatment plans. If you need significant work, we don't expect you to do it all at once. We'll prioritise by urgency and spread treatment over months — sometimes over a year or more — so the financial impact is manageable.

Honest conversation about priorities. Not everything recommended is urgent. We'll tell you clearly: "This needs doing soon," vs "This can wait six months," vs "This is optional — here's what it would improve." You decide what to proceed with, based on full information.

What patients actually spend

We know that vague promises of "affordability" mean nothing without specifics. Here are realistic ranges for common treatments:

• Routine check-up: £49
• Hygienist visit: £65–£95
• Simple filling: £90–£150
• White composite filling: £120–£180
• Professional whitening: £350–£450
• Composite bonding (per tooth): £180–£350
• Single dental implant (including crown): £2,500–£3,500
• Porcelain veneer (per tooth): £650–£850

These are ranges, not fixed prices — because every mouth is different. But they give you the ballpark your brain needs to stop catastrophising about cost.

The most expensive dental care is the care you didn't get

We understand that cost is a real concern, not an excuse. But the evidence is overwhelming: regular preventive care is the single most cost-effective approach to dental health. Every pound spent on prevention saves many more in treatment.

The patients who spend the least with us over their lifetime are the ones who come regularly, catch problems early, and stay ahead of issues before they escalate. The patients who spend the most are those who avoided us for years and arrived with problems that had compounded beyond simple solutions.

You don't need to commit to expensive treatment today. You just need to start.