Terms and Conditions
This document gives details of our terms and conditions of service. If, however, you have any queries or need clarification, please contact us and a member of staff will be happy to help you.
Creffield Lodge Dental Practice does not have a contract with an NHS Primary Care Trust and all treatments are provided on a private basis only.
Treatment plans and Estimates
Once your treatment plan has been agreed with the Dentist, we will provide documented details of your plan. If this plan changes due to radiographic or clinical findings, we will inform you and discuss this with you. Treatment plans and fees are valid for 90 days from the date the treatment was prescribed. If there are any points on your treatment plan that you wish to query, please do not hesitate to ask us, before the appointments for actual treatments are made.
Consent forms
Certain treatments require completion of a consent form. This is in order to explain the treatment, aftercare and any risk to you thoroughly, before any of these treatments are carried out.
Consent for any treatment can be withdrawn at any point by the patient or dental professional.
Fees
Fees for treatment are due on the day the treatment is provided. We do not operate an account in arrears facility and we require fees to be settled at the appointment where treatment is provided. Where treatment incurs a laboratory fee, a minimum of 50% of the total fee is due at the initial treatment appointment. Fees for certain treatments like Dental Implants and Invisalign® are taken in staged payments at each visit.
Fees for treatment where intravenous sedation is included, must be settled prior to the appointment to avoid financial transactions, or signatures being required, whilst a client is still under the influence of the sedative.
In cases where treatment is paid for on finance through a Finance company, please be aware that the finance agreement must be accepted and signed prior to the start of that treatment. Please note that finance is only available on treatments over £400, not including Emergency Dental Treatment, and that a minimum deposit may also be required.
We reserve the right to request payment in advance for certain treatments.
Creffield Lodge Dental Practice reserves the right to charge time based deposits for booking future appointments. Deposits are deductible off the cost of treatment.
Payment methods accepted are:
- Cash
- Debit/Credit Card excluding American express
Creffield Lodge Dental Practice does not accept any payments by cheque (unless agreed in advance with the practice owner). Please note that unpaid accounts are routinely referred to a Debt Collection Agency or the Small Claims Court, and we reserve the right to recover all costs incurred in doing so.
We reserve the right to ask for payment in full before beginning any treatment plan.
We reserve the right to make alternative charges based on surgery and clinician time if planned treatment cannot be completed in the allocated time.
Late cancellation or missed appointments:
Cancellations and Failed Appointments: We require a minimum of 48 hours notice for cancellation of any arranged appointment of 1 hour duration or less. We require a minimum of 5 working days notice for cancellation of any arranged appointment of over 1 hour duration. When we schedule an appointment for a patient, we are booking the surgery time off for that patient’s treatment. Failure to give the appropriate notice of cancellation will result in a Failed Appointment Fee being charged. This fee is proportionate to the length of the appointment failed and is to cover the cost of the surgery time wasted.
Failed Appointment fees must be settled before any other appointment is offered. Failed appointment fees may be taken from any time based deposit already paid. This is then not deductible from the cost of treatment.
Creffield Lodge Dental Practice reserves the right to charge the full cost of the treatment in the event of a missed appointment or an appointment cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
For missed appointments or short notice cancellations, we reserve the right to take a minimum of 50% deposit to book further appointments.
Please note: it is also down to the principal’s discretion if further appointments can be booked for any late cancellations or missed appointments.
Late for appointments:
We understand that some patients travel long distances to get to the clinic, and in some cases being late for appointments can be unavoidable. If you are more than 10 minutes, please be aware that you may be asked to reschedule your appointment.
Personal Details:
It is very important that you give a full medical history and details of any medication you take. Should these change in any way, it is very important for you to tell your Dentist. It is the patient’s responsibility to inform the clinic of any changes in either personal details and/or their medical history.
Guarantee:
At Creffield Lodge Dental Practice we offer a 12 month guarantee for fillings, and crown and bridgework, provided that the following conditions are met:
- The patient has fully paid for the treatment and does not owe the practice any money for the treatment received.
- The restorations have not been damaged as a result of an accident, trauma or excessive grinding.
- The patient has followed all post treatment maintenance recommendations made by our dentists.
- The patient has attended a routine examination every 6 months.
Some treatments may have a guarantee of less than 1 year, and in this case you will be informed by your Dentist either verbally or in writing, or both. Orthodontic retainers and other removable appliances are not covered by a guarantee.
Use of Images and X-rays:
Creffield Lodge Dental Practice may like to use images and x-rays of your smile and teeth for marketing and educational purposes on the Creffield Lodge Dental Practice website, and on promotional and educational literature. Your name will never be published, and identity will never be disclosed. We will always specifically ask for your consent before using any of your images.
Use of patient contact details:
At Creffield Lodge Dental Practice, the health of our patients is our highest priority, and we also like to keep our patients informed of various important changes at the clinic and of our latest special offers. We like to remind our patients of their appointments, when they are due for appointments, and other various important reminders. On this note, you may be periodically contacted by the clinic via phone, text, email or by letter in the post. If you DO NOT wish to be contacted by the clinic by any or all of these means, please let us know.
Complaint’s policy:
At Creffiled Lodge Dental Practice, we always take complaints about any aspects of our services very seriously, in order to ensure that every patient has only the very best experience at all times.
Complaints can be made in writing, or via email, by the patient or by an authorised person on the patient’s behalf. Complaints should be made to the ‘Complaints Manager’, and should be clear, so that they can be dealt with efficiently.
Every complaint will receive immediate written/email acknowledgment, and the Management will strive to resolve the complaint within a quick, reasonable period of time (usually about 2 weeks). For our full complaints procedure and policy, please ask a member of our reception team. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be acknowledged by the Management team and then referred to the treating Dentist.
If you are unsatisfied with our internal handling of your complaint, you are free to forward your complaint to the Dental Complaints Service (www.dentalcomplaints.org.uk).
No tolerance/Abuse policy
We operate a zero-tolerance policy to abuse to our Dentists and staff, loud/disorderly/drunken behaviour, persistent missing and late cancellation of appointments (after multiple warnings). In these situations, Creffield Lodge Dental Practice reserves the right to refuse treatment and admission.
Data Protection Act:
We store all patient personal details on a secure computer system in accordance with the Data Protection Act & GDPR. All clinical notes, digital radiographs, digital photographs etc remain the property of Creffield Lodge Dental Practice. Copies of notes, radiographs and photographs can be made available on request, and we reserve the right to charge an administration fee for these.