HalilMustafa

Yes, and please say so when you book — I will put you in a longer appointment so nothing is rushed. The first visit can be nothing more than a look and a conversation, with no treatment at all. Agree a stop signal with me and I will stop, every time, no discussion.

Yes, and more usefully than that: I trained in it. My dentistry degree is from Hacettepe University in Ankara and the whole five years were taught in Turkish, so I can explain an X-ray, a diagnosis and the options in Turkish rather than only making conversation in it. You do not need to bring anyone to translate.

Yes. Every dentist practising in the UK must be on the General Dental Council register, and a degree from outside the UK does not carry over on its own — you sit the Overseas Registration Examination first. My GDC number is at the bottom of this page and the register is public, so you can check it in about thirty seconds.

For children and for adults exempt from charges, usually yes. Adult NHS lists open in batches rather than staying open all year, so the honest answer is: join the waiting list and reception will call you when the next batch opens. I would rather tell you that than pretend.

No. I have never once found it useful to make someone feel bad about their teeth — people who feel judged do not come back, and not coming back is the actual problem. We start from where you are today.

A check-up is a Band 1 NHS charge or a fixed private fee, both listed on this page. Anything beyond that gets a written estimate before we start. Nothing is done that you have not seen the price of first.

Please do. NHS dental care is free for under-18s, and the first appointment is deliberately dull — a ride in the chair, a count of the teeth, a sticker. Bring them along to your own appointment first if they are nervous; watching a parent go through it calmly does more than anything I can say.

Ring the practice as early in the day as you can and ask for an emergency slot — a few are held back each morning for exactly this. If we are closed, call NHS 111. A knocked-out adult tooth is the one true emergency: push it back into the socket if you can bear to, or keep it in milk, and get to a dentist within the hour.

No, and it is illegal. Tooth whitening in the UK may only be carried out by a registered dental professional. I see the gum burns and the stripped enamel that come from salon and mail-order kits, and they cost more to repair than the whitening would have cost to do properly.

No. Bitewing X-rays go by risk, not by calendar — roughly every two years if your teeth are stable, more often if they are not. If I suggest one I will tell you what I am looking for, and you can say no.

Yes. You see me at the assessment, me during the treatment and me at the review. If something is better done by a specialist — a difficult root canal, a wisdom tooth sitting on the nerve — I will refer you rather than attempt it, and I will tell you why.