I have read people complaining about the difficulty of getting NHS dental treatment. I think it may be a postcode lottery. We have a dental surgery on out island that happily provides dental treatment on the NHS. I have just had a crown replaced by a cheerful and competent dentist. No charge.

Free NHS dental treatment is only for people who meet specific criteria though, it's certainly not free for all.

No problems getting into an NHS dentist where I live either, in fact have just returned from a visit. £56.30 (Band 2) for check up, x-rays, one ordinary filling, one root canal and a clean and polish. Wouldn't have got any change from $2,000 in Australia for all that.

I'm out of the loop since 2004 but I remember the problem wasn't so much finding a dentist doing NHS treatment but that many would only take new patients for NHS treatment if they met the criteria for free treatment.

My original NHS dentist I saw regularly every six months and in five years all I had done was a re-stick of a crown for £9 and check-up and clean/polish for just over £9 a year.

So I was a bit miffed when he went private/denplan and wanted £15 a month premiums. More in a month than I'd been paying annually

I found an alternative for a year or so but then he went the same way so I found another one where the majority of patients were probably exempt. I think it showed in the furnishings and experience of the dentists there.

I just paid almost $3000 for two root canals in Canada. £1650

Like I said - Postcode Lottery. Come and live in PA20 !

And i can report that the croen replacement I go from my NHS dentist is still in place. The Lord is gracious !

You have to pay towards NHS dental work even in Scotland unless you are in receipt of certain benefits.

https://www.scottishdental.org/publi...tment-charges/

Indeed.

I am in Australia & had a crown done yesterday. It cost $1,534 Aust dollars. Dental insurance paid $895 & the remainder I had to find myself.

i plan on paying for my own dentist when I move if it's inexpensive enough

Think yourself lucky. My wife had a complex crown replacement in Oz that had to be done by a specialist. The bill was several times yours (nearly five figures) and insurance paid barely anything.

Went to the dentist last week. Check up is free. A full clean and po,ish with a specialist clean to two teeth and a filling replacement £47.

AWESOME! i have an implant to do. I'm wondering if I should do before I leave or get it done in the UK

Brigette, you need to be aware that dental implants are only subsidised by the NHS if they're deemed medically necessary. You won't be eligible if the implant is just for cosmetic reasons. See here for further information www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/985.aspx

Im pretty certain you wont get an implant on the nhs, even if you could pass the habitual residency test. Cost privately from a reputable nhs dental surgeon circa 2000 pounds, but 3-6 month process if done the conservative way.

All the normal services - same issue - first get registered with an nhs dentist. Be aware that some checks are done after you are signed up, its possible though unlikely to get a nasty bill or a fraud charge in the future.

It's not difficult for a British citizen who's moved back to the UK to prove that they're 'ordinarily resident' for NHS purposes. Assuming that they're questioned, there are a number of ways to do this - current UK address, evidence of selling overseas property or a termination of lease document, confirmation of resignation from overseas employment etc, a simple statutory declaration.

If you're a UK citizen who has genuinely returned to the UK to live, you will be eligible for full access to the NHS from day 1 and there won't be any nasty bills or surprises down the track.