We are always pleased to assist our patients whenever we can. 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.
Please be aware that any information provided through any part of our website (examples: forum, blog, news, main site, live chat, phone, email, …) is for interest & entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. No professional advice can be given without a clinical consultation with a dentist. For professional dental advice we strongly recommend that you see a dentist for full consultation.
Lancaster Smile Clinic does not have a contract with an NHS Primary Care Trust and all treatments are provided on a private basis only.
You will be asked to read the Terms and Conditions and will also be sent a link to the Terms and Conditions when you join the practice. By attending the practice for appointments, you are confirming that you have read, understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions, including any finance terms and conditions *subject to status.
Attending the Clinic
Patients must attend on time and preferably at least 5 minutes before their appointment time. If patients arrive 5 minutes or longer after their appointment time there is no guarantee that the dentist will be able to see the patient or complete all work that was scheduled during the appointment. If more appointments are required as a result, extra charges may be incurred. If the patient arrives so late that the appointment cannot be completed at all, then this will be treated as failing to attend the appointment and a charge of £1 per minute will be charged for the time wasted.
Any failed check-ups or hygiene appointments will be re-booked. If you fail to attend a treatment appointment the £1 per minute charge will be applied and it is the patients responsibility to rebook the appointment.
Cancelling Appointments
We require a minimum of 24 business hours notice to cancel an appointment that is less than 2 hours in length and a minimum of 48 business hours to cancel an appointment longer than 2 hours in length.
Failure to do so will incur a charge of £1 per minute of wasted time. This will be taken from deposits and you will need to top up your deposit in order to keep your treatment appointment. We reserve the right to refuse treatment to anyone who is showing debt on their account.
Attending the Practice
When registering as a new patient, a deposit is required when booking the first appointment
The deposit may be refunded if more than 24 hours notice has been given to cancel the appointment. More than 48 hours noticed is appreciated if at all possible to allow reception to offer the appointment to another patient.
All documents including a medical history form, along with other details the practice requires to complete the registration process must be completed before you can be seen.
Treatment plans must still be signed if the patient has any dental treatment other than a routine check-up/ scale and polish. A signed treatment plan is always required at the first appointment, whether the patient intends to return to the practice or not.
If the patient does not return to the practice within 2 years of attending their first appointment (and does not return for treatment) the patient will need to book a new dental assessment, as the treatment plan may have changed during this time. No emergency appointment will be offered should the patient have toothache and the “new patient procedure” will be followed at the discretion of the treating dentist.
If the patient is dentally fit but does not return to the practice within two years, a new dental assessment may be required to decide if the appointment type has changed.
Emergency Appointments
The Emergency Fee (see price list) is applicable for those emergency appointments requiring prescriptions and/or dressings only e.g temporary fillings. If further treatment such as extraction or the start of root treatment is required, this will incur an additional charge.
Dental Plans
Patients may need to be “dentally fit” before signing up with a Dental Insurance Provider, such as Simply Health. This means you will require an initial check-up (see price list) and any treatments required before signing up with a Dental Insurance Provider.
The treating dentist will be able to advise the patient on how they can sign up with a Dental Insurance Provider, but the dentist will not be able to advise on which of their plans to choose. The dentist will be able to discuss with the patient the ‘pay as you go’ system at Lancaster Smile Clinic.
Currently, Dental Insurance Providers, such as Simply Health, require you to attend the dentist as usual, recieve an itimised receipt, submit the reciept and then claim back the money the patient has paid to the practice.
Click here to view Simply Health Dental Insurance
Deposits
It may be necessary to ask patients who require treatment appointments to pay a deposit towards the next treatment appointment, as the time required is much longer than a routine check up appointment. This is advised by the treating dentist
Whilst checking out or calling book a treatment plan, usually a £1 per minute deposit needs to be taken.
The deposit taken will be kept for any “Failed To Attend” (FTA) and short notice cancellation appointments and a new deposit will be required, should the patient wish to re-book. The FTA or Short Notice fee is £1 per minute of the appointment length.
Patient contact details
It is important for the practice to have up to date contact details for all patients. If a patient has a new mobile number, e-mail address or home address, the patient should inform the practice as soon as possible.
Treatments
After a treatment plan has been agreed, we will typically email an estimate or treatment plan, which we will ask that you read through thoroughly, and sign only once you have fully read and understood the care plan. If you arrange to book treatment after receiving an estimate or treatment plan, this is confirmation that you understand and are happy with the plan and estimate. We reserve the right to refuse treatment if we do not believe you are able to consent.
If there are any points on your treatment plan that you wish to query this should be done before any appointments for treatment are scheduled as on confirming the treatment plan, you are agreeing that you have had the opportunity to ask any questions, review your treatment options, alternatives, understand the intended plan, along with their individual risks, benefits and the associated fees.
If the clinical plan needs to be changed due to x-ray or clinical findings, we will inform you and discuss this with you fully prior to proceeding.
Treatment plans are valid for 90 days from the date the treatment was prescribed, and plans started after this point may need review and additional re-planning at further fee prior to delivery.
Cosmetic Treatments
Subject to full Medical History, clinical assessment, medical assessment and signed consent
We have the right to refuse treatment should the patient be unsuitable for a particular type of treatment.
We have the right to refuse treatment if a patient lacks the capacity to give consent. A decision about whether to go ahead with the treatment will be made by the Dentist with the patient’s best interests considered.
The Patient must be dentally fit I.e. must have good oral health and require no dental treatments. If the Patient does require dental treatments, such as a filling(s), they must have this remedied first before cosmetic dentistry can be done. This can either be done at your own dentist for which they will charge their usual prices, or with us and we will charge our usual private prices.
Min Age 18
Consultations are free of charge. If you “Fail To Attend” (FTA) or cancel your free consultation at short notice, you will be charged £35 to book another consultation. Patients who require routine treatments but request a free consultation for cosmetic work, may be charged an examination fee (for charting, x-rays and advice etc) before proceeding with cosmetic estimates.
Although consultations are free of charge, sometimes it is necessary to take x-rays to check whether any general work is needed prior to cosmetic work, this will incur the x-ray charge (see price list)
For any appointment, once you have had your consultation/check-up and have signed and agreed a price with the dentist in order to book an appointment, you must pay a 50% deposit, unless you are taking finance *subject to status. If you are taking finance through us, we will book your appointment once the finance has been confirmed with the lender. Alternatively, you can arrange your own finance and pay in full. Finance is available for anything including and above £300
Once treatment is complete, any remaining balance must be paid before leaving. Please note that unpaid accounts are routinely referred to a Debt Collection Agency or the Small Claims Court, after we have exhausted methods of trying to personally contact the patient for payment and we reserve the right to recover all costs incurred in doing so. Extenuating circumstances are taken into consideration.
If you fail to attend your appointment or give less than 24 hours notice of cancellation a fee of £1 per minute will be charged for the dentists time that could not be filled with another paying patient. In order to re-book the appointment, the deposit must be replenished back up to the 50% amount.
If after failing to attend or giving less than 24 hours notification of cancelling your appointment you wish to cancel the appointment entirely, you will be refunded the remaining balance of your deposit, minus the £1 per minute fee.
If you give more than 24 hours notice to cancel your appointment, you will recieve your full deposit back (100%).
If you fail to attend your free consultation or give less than 24 hours notice cancellation and still wish to have a consultation re-booked, there will be a charge of £35 for the consultation.
If you have taken out finance and decide to cancel your appointment entirely, you will need to speak to the lender directly.
We reserve the right to ask for payment in full before beginning any treatment plan.
Refunds
You may cancel a course of treatment for which you have booked an appointment and be fully refunded all fees for treatment not yet performed; provided you give us a minimum of 48 working hours prior notice. If 48 working hours prior notice is not received, we reserve the right to withhold a proportionate amount of money, based upon the length of the appointment, to cover overheads – see Deposits, above.
We will refund the money to patients who wish to discontinue treatment at any time. A notice period of 14 days is required upon which they will be eligible for a refund of any amount paid for treatment that they did not receive.
If a patient is receiving any treatment that involves laboratory work and initial work has been carried out i.e. if the patient is having crowns/bridges or a denture made, and the work has already been started or completed by the laboratory, a proportion of the fee taken on the preparation appointment will be kept to cover the cost of the laboratory invoice, plus costs for time in the surgery so far. Should zero fee have been taken on the preparation appointment, the patient shall liable for the lab fee incurred in full. We shall provide the lab invoice and appointments taken so far for reference.
Refunds will be processed within 14 days after receipt and confirmation of your request/concern
Finance
Click here to read the Finance Terms and Conditions From the lender “Tabeo”.
Representative example:
A loan of £1,000.00 over 3 months would cost you £333.33 per month at a representative 0% APR.The total amount of credit would be £1,000.00, to which we would add £0.00 (0% p.a.). This means the total cost of your treatment after 3 months would be £1,000.00.If you were take out the loan today, you’d pay the first £333.34 upfront, and then 2 payments of £333.33 each month, starting 18 Mar, and ending in Apr 2022.*This can’t be more than your treatment cost.
Tabeo handles payments for Lancaster Smile Limited and many other businesses in the UK. To learn more visit Tabeo’s website. LANCASTER SMILE LIMITED trading as Lancaster Smile Clinic, ARA and LSC with its registered address at 8 Brock Street, LA1 1UU, Lancaster; trading from 34 King Street, Lancaster, LA1 1RE is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and entered on the Financial Services Register, reference number 968474. Tabeo may also act as credit broker and loan servicer. Depending on your term and credit profile, Tabeo will only introduce you to one suitable lender. Tabeo Broker Limited, incorporated in England & Wales (registration number 10416530), with its registered office at C/O Fox Williams, 10 Finsbury Square, Finsbury, London EC2A 1AF. Tabeo Broker Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and entered on the Financial Services Register, reference number 777539.
Prices
Routine Dental Care prices are not subject to change after a treatment plan has been given to the patient.
Treatment prices displayed on the website are a true reflection for the majority of patients. There are occasions whereby the dentist may quote a different amount than is on the price list, due to the complexity of a particular patients treatment. You will be asked to sign a treatment plan with the agreed price before any treatment is carried out. If further complications arise once treatment has started, such as radiographic or clinical findings, your dentist will inform you of any further costs or recommendations and ask you to sign an updated treatment plan if you agree. Treatment plans are valid for 90 days. 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.
When the Practice cancels on the patient
Lancaster Smile Clinic reserves the right to cancel any appointment with more than 24 hours notice*
This will be done via phone call or SMS.
When a dentist is absent through sickness, emergencies, natural hazards outside human control or stuck in traffic any gaps in the remaining dentists appointment books will be reserved for emergency spaces. Patients will be called or an SMS sent to be informed that their dentist will not be able to see them on that day and another appointment will be made for another day. Any emergencies will still be seen. No compensation of any kind will be made to the patient if the practice is forced to re-schedule their appointment, regardless of how much notice is given. This is very uncommon and we will strive to honour each and every appointment given.
Guarantee:
At Lancaster Smile Clinic our treatments are guaranteed for a period of twelve months following placement, 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 veneers, crowns, implants have not been damaged as a result of neglect, an accident, trauma or excessive grinding
- The patient has followed all maintenance and hygiene recommendations made by our dentists.
- No treatment is guaranteed for more than 1 year. This is not because we expect the treatment to last only one year but if there was a fault in the componentry or materials this would be manifest within a shorter period of time and be rectified as required.
- Dental implants have a lifetime parts guarantee as the componentry we use is premium and will be replaced by the company without fee. This, however, does not include fees for the dentists or laboratory time, which will be charged on a case-by-case basis.
- Some treatments may have a guarantee of less than 1 year and where this is the case, the treating clinician will inform you.
Use of Images and X-rays:
Lancaster Smile Clinic may use images and x-rays of your smile and teeth only, for marketing and educational purposes on the Lancaster Smile website, and on promotional and educational literature such as social media. Your name will never be published, and identity will never be disclosed. Your name will be visable if you post on social media and tag our practice in the post and if we share your post. By “publically posting” to social media you are making the images and your information available to the world wide web. We may share these images, however, if you DO NOT wish for us to use your images and x-rays in this way, please let us know and we will remove them.
Use of patient contact details:
At Lancaster Smile Clinic 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 or email. If you DO NOT wish to be contacted by the clinic by any or all of these means, please let us know.
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, Lancaster Smile Clinic reserves the right to refuse treatment and admission.
Promotions
Lancaster Smile Clinic occasionally runs special offers and promotions on treatments. These are subject to availability of appointments and suitability of the treatment for the patient.