Patient Attendance, Cancellation and Practice Policy
At Twickel Dental Practice, patients are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to providing high-quality, safe and respectful dental care in a calm and professional environment.
Our promises to you
We promise to:
- Treat you with respect, kindness and understanding.
- Listen to your concerns and respond promptly and constructively.
- Use safe, proven materials and techniques.
- Continue investing in our knowledge, skills, equipment and technology.
- Do our best to provide urgent dental care where this is clinically necessary and appointments are available.
What we ask of you
We ask you to:
- Arrive on time for your appointments.
- Give us at least 48 hours' notice if you need to cancel or rearrange.
- Follow the advice given to help maintain your oral health.
- Attend routine review and maintenance appointments as advised.
- Keep your account up to date.
- Let us know if your medical history, medication or personal details change.
- Treat our team and other patients with courtesy and respect.
Appointment Attendance and Cancellation Policy
When we book an appointment for you, we reserve surgery time, clinician time, nurse time, equipment and other resources specifically for your care. Missed appointments and short-notice cancellations prevent us from offering that time to other patients, including those who may be in pain or waiting for treatment.
For this reason, Twickel Dental Practice operates a clear failure to attend and late cancellation policy.
A failure to attend or late cancellation means that a patient either:
- does not attend a booked appointment; or
- cancels or rearranges with less than 48 hours' notice.
Exceptional circumstances may be considered at the discretion of the practice.
Please note that cancellation by e-mail, text message, social media message or voicemail may not be accepted as valid notice, as these are not monitored continuously during the working day. Patients should telephone the practice to cancel or rearrange an appointment.
Text and e-mail reminders are sent as a courtesy only. Their delivery cannot be guaranteed, and patients remain responsible for attending their appointments on time.
Private Patients and New Patients
For private examination, hygiene and emergency appointments, the full appointment fee is required in advance in order to secure the booking. If the appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice, this payment will be retained and a new fee will be required before another appointment can be booked.
Treatment appointments are separate from routine examination, hygiene and emergency visits.
When treatment is booked, we reserve surgery time and clinical resources specifically for that treatment. For this reason, treatment appointments will require a deposit of 50% or more at the time of booking. This deposit will normally be deducted from the cost of the treatment when the appointment is attended.
If a treatment appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice, Twickel Dental Practice reserves the right to retain the deposit to reflect the clinical time, preparation, materials and resources reserved for that appointment.
Where no deposit has been taken, or where the deposit does not reasonably reflect the clinical time reserved, the practice may apply a failed appointment fee of up to £30 per 10 minutes of reserved clinical time, where appropriate.
The patient may also be responsible for any additional laboratory or material costs already incurred where these are not covered by the deposit.
If a patient decides not to continue with planned treatment, they will remain responsible for any treatment already provided and any laboratory work, materials or clinical work already completed.
Treatment plans are estimates. We will always endeavour to inform patients if costs change once treatment has started. Additional procedures may be recommended where clinically necessary and in the patient's best interests.
Treatment estimates are valid for three months from the date of the treatment plan unless stated otherwise.
To summarise:
- deposits for private examinations, hygiene appointments and emergency appointments are non-refundable if the appointment is missed or late-cancelled;
- where an examination and hygiene appointment are booked together and missed or late- cancelled, both deposits will be retained;
- for treatment appointments, the deposit may be retained in full or in part, depending on the length of the appointment, the clinician's time reserved, the type of treatment and any preparation, materials or laboratory work already undertaken.
Failed appointment fees, retained deposits and outstanding balances must be settled before any further appointments are offered.
If a private patient repeatedly misses appointments, late-cancels or arrives too late to be seen, Twickel Dental Practice reserves the right to decline further appointments.
If a new patient fails to attend their first appointment, the practice reserves the right not to offer further appointments.
Practice Plan / Subscription Plan Patients
Subscription plans are designed to help patients maintain their oral health through regular attendance.
The routine appointments included in a subscription plan usually relate to examinations and hygiene visits, depending on the patient's plan. Treatment appointments are separate and are not included as part of the routine plan allocation.
Routine plan appointments
If a patient fails to attend or cancels a routine plan appointment with less than 48 hours' notice, that appointment will be treated as used and deducted from the patient's allocated number of visits for that subscription year.
If the patient wishes to replace that appointment within the same subscription period, the replacement appointment will need to be booked and paid for privately, otherwise the patient may need to wait until their next routine membership appointment is due. This may be up to 6 months from the missed or late-cancelled appointment.
Missed appointments cannot be rolled over, exchanged for credit or refunded.
Cancellations with more than 48 hours' notice
If a patient cancels a routine plan appointment with more than 48 hours' notice, we will make every effort to offer the next available suitable appointment within the subscription period, subject to availability.
Treatment appointments for plan patients
Treatment appointments for plan patients are treated in the same way as private treatment appointments.
A deposit of 50% or more will usually be required at the time of booking and will normally be deducted from the cost of the treatment when the appointment is attended.
If a treatment appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice, the practice reserves the right to retain the deposit to reflect the clinical time and resources reserved for that appointment. Where no deposit has been taken, or where the deposit does not reasonably reflect the clinical time reserved, the practice may apply a failed appointment fee of up to £30 per 10 minutes of reserved clinical time, where appropriate.
NHS Patients
Under the National Health Service dental regulations, the practice cannot charge NHS patients for failing to attend NHS appointments.
However, all missed NHS appointments and late cancellations will be recorded in the patient's clinical record.
A first failure to attend or late cancellation may result in written or verbal communication from the practice. The patient may be offered the opportunity to rebook, subject to appointment availability.
If a patient repeatedly fails to attend, late-cancels, or gives less than 48 hours' notice, this may constitute a breakdown in the professional relationship between the patient and the practice. In line with NHS dental regulations, Twickel Dental Practice reserves the right to decline further NHS treatment where appropriate.
Due to significantly reduced NHS appointment capacity, if an NHS appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice, it may take 3 to 6 months before we are able to offer another suitable NHS appointment.
We therefore strongly advise NHS patients to keep their booked appointments wherever possible, or to give more than 48 hours' notice if they need to cancel or rearrange.
Late Arrival
Patients who arrive more than 10 minutes late for a dentist, therapist or hygienist appointment may be asked to reschedule.
This is because there may no longer be enough time to complete the appointment safely and without delaying other patients.
Cancelling on Behalf of Another Patient
If you are cancelling on behalf of another patient, we may need to confirm that you have permission to do so, unless:
- you are the parent or legal guardian of a child patient;
- you are the patient's carer; or
- the patient is unable to contact us because of illness, disability or incapacity.
This is to protect patient confidentiality.
Outstanding Balances
Treatment will only be provided to patients whose accounts are up to date.
Patients with outstanding fees may not be offered further appointments until the balance has been paid in full.
Treatment Review and Repair Policy
At Twickel Dental Practice, we take pride in the quality of our clinical care and materials. If a restoration we have provided unexpectedly fails within 12 months, we will review it and, where appropriate, repair or replace it on a like-for-like basis at no additional charge.
This applies to fillings, crowns and bridgework, provided that:
- The treatment has been fully paid for.
- The patient has followed the maintenance and oral hygiene advice given.
- The patient has attended routine examinations and maintenance appointments as advised.
- The failure has not been caused by accident, trauma, excessive grinding, neglect, new decay, gum disease, changes in the surrounding teeth, or treatment carried out elsewhere.
- The restoration has not been used inappropriately, for example biting very hard objects.
- The restoration has not been altered, adjusted, repaired or replaced by another dentist, clinician or dental practice since it was originally provided by Twickel Dental Practice.
- The patient has contacted Twickel Dental Practice promptly after becoming aware of a problem and has allowed the practice the opportunity to assess the restoration before seeking treatment elsewhere, except in a genuine emergency.
- The failure is not related to an underlying dental condition, tooth fracture, root fracture, nerve problem, bite change, gum recession, bone loss, or other biological factor outside the control of the practice.
- The restoration was not provided as a temporary, emergency, transitional, compromise or guarded-prognosis treatment.
- The patient has not declined recommended treatment, investigations, protective appliances, hygiene care, periodontal treatment, bite management or review appointments that may have affected the long-term outcome.
This policy does not cover temporary restorations, repairs, emergency dressings, treatment provided as a temporary or transitional solution, or failures caused by factors outside the practice's control.
Some treatments may have different review or repair arrangements. If this applies, your dentist will explain this as part of your treatment plan.
Zero Tolerance Policy
Twickel Dental Practice has a duty to provide a safe and respectful environment for patients, clinicians and staff.
Unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated. This includes:
- shouting, swearing or verbal abuse;
- threatening behaviour;
- physical violence;
- racial abuse, sexual harassment or discriminatory behaviour;
- persistent or unrealistic demands that cause distress to staff;
- damage to practice property;
- theft.
Violent or threatening behaviour may be reported to the police.
Twickel Dental Practice reserves the right to ask patients who are abusive, repeatedly late, repeatedly fail to attend, or repeatedly cancel at short notice to find another dental provider.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact the practice on 01952 728 799 and a member of our team will be happy to help.
If you wish to dispute a failed appointment fee or retained deposit because of circumstances outside your control, please put this in writing to the Practice Manager:
Twickel Dental Practice
23 Barrow Street
Much Wenlock
TF13 6EN
E-mail: rachel@twickel-dental.co.uk
