At South Ealing Dental Practice, appointments are very important to us. They represent unique time slots that have been specifically reserved for each patient. Before each appointment, the team will carefully prepare the surgery to receive the patient for the service that has been agreed upon and this process incurs a cost to the practice.

Appointments that are missed or cancelled with insufficient notice cannot be offered to other patients. This is wasteful of time, team efforts and resources. It also unnecessarily prolongs the wait for other patients who require urgent attention.

Booking Appointments

To maintain the efficiency of our services, a deposit is required to secure ALL appointment bookings. This confirms a patient’s commitment to attend the booked appointment and is not a method of generating profit. It remains as a credit on a patient’s account and will be debited once treatment has been delivered.

Appointments will not be confirmed until a deposit has been received. Deposit payments for exam and hygiene appointments can be made via our secure online booking system or over the telephone. Once a patient has started a course of treatment, deposit payments for ongoing appointments will be agreed with the dentist providing the service and must be made in person, at the practice. Deposit payments can also be arranged by BACS transfer, in which case proof of payment will be required. 

Free Consultation Appointments

A deposit will be required to book appointments which are listed as free. Once this appointment has been attended, if any paid services follow, the deposit will be retained and deducted from the cost of services received. In the event that no services are taken up by the patient following attendance, and no outstanding balance remains on the patient’s account, the deposit fee will be refunded in full by BACs transfer.

Cancelling Appointments with insufficient notice

If a booked appointment is not attended or cancelled with less than 24hrs notice, a fee will be charged to cover preparation costs, in accordance with our appointment cancellation policy. In such instances, the deposit may in part or whole be deducted. Under these circumstances, a further appointment can be booked but an additional deposit may be requested for future services.

Cancelling appointments with sufficient notice

When appointments are cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hrs notice, the deposit will be held and transferred towards the future service. Patients who cancel their appointment with at least 24 hrs notice and have no services pending or outstanding balance on their account, can request a refund of their deposit by contacting the practice via email or telephone. If applicable, the deposit will be returned to the patient’s nominated bank account by BACs transfer.

Rescheduling Appointments by the Practice

When a request to reschedule an appointment is made by the practice, the deposit will be transferred to the future service, in accordance with our appointment cancellation policy.