A small practice in the north quarter
Unhurried dentistry,
plainly explained.
Unhurried appointments, written treatment plans, and costs quoted before anything starts. You will see the same clinician each visit, and you will never be sold a treatment you did not ask about.
New patient checks, Mon–Sat Same-day urgent slots held daily
How it works
Your first visit
A new patient assessment runs to fifty minutes. Nothing is treated on the day unless you are in pain and ask us to.
Step 01
A proper look
We chart every tooth, check the gums and soft tissues, and take small X-rays only where the chart or your history suggests they will change a decision. You see the photographs on the screen as we go.
Step 02
Written down, not talked at
You leave with a one-page plan: what is healthy, what needs watching, and what needs work. Anything urgent is marked, anything optional is marked as optional, and the difference is stated in writing.
Step 03
Costed before booking
Each item on the plan carries a fee before you agree to it. If a treatment could go two ways — a repair now or a crown later — we cost both and tell you which we would choose and why.
Step 04
A recall interval that fits you
Low-risk mouths do not need six-monthly appointments. We set your recall between six and twenty-four months based on what we actually found, and we write down what would change it.
Fee guide
Treatment index
Indicative starting fees for the treatments we carry out most often. Your written plan confirms the exact figure before any appointment is booked.
Routine care
Fifty minutes: full charting, gum scores, soft-tissue check and your written plan.
Recall appointment for existing patients, including any X-rays clinically needed.
Scale, polish and a technique session aimed at the two or three spots you keep missing.
Deeper cleaning under anaesthetic for pockets that have not settled, reviewed after ten weeks.
Held slots each morning and afternoon for toothache, swelling or a lost filling.
Restorative
Composite repair, shade-matched. Fee varies with how many surfaces are involved.
Digitally scanned, no impression putty. Includes the fitting visit and any adjustment.
Usually one longer visit. We will tell you honestly if the tooth is better referred.
Including aftercare instructions and a review call the following working day.
Custom-made for grinding and jaw ache, with a fitting and one free adjustment.
Cosmetic & alignment
Custom trays and gel, after a suitability check. Not carried out on untreated decay.
Per tooth. Reshapes chipped or worn edges without removing healthy enamel.
Scan, simulation and a straight answer on whether aligners will achieve what you want.
Good to know
Treatment over £400 can be spread across monthly payments at no added cost. A monthly care plan covering examinations and hygiene visits is available once you are registered.
Second opinions on a plan we wrote, adjustments within a fortnight of fitting, and the follow-up call after an extraction.
Examinations for children under sixteen registered with a parent are included with the parent's recall appointment.
Not sure which of these you need? Book the assessment first — it is the only appointment you have to decide on today.
The practice
Two surgeries, one diary
North Thread was set up so that appointments could be long enough to do the work properly. We keep the list small on purpose and book fewer patients a day than most practices our size.
- You are assigned one clinician at registration and stay with them unless you ask to change.
- Digital scanning throughout — no impression trays, and scans are kept so we can compare wear year on year.
- Crowns and onlays are made by one local technician we have worked with for years, not a rotating lab list.
- Notes, photographs and X-rays are yours on request, in a format another practice can actually open.
- We do not run commission or targets on treatment, so nobody here has a reason to over-recommend.
If you have been putting it off
Nervous patients
A large share of the people who register here have not seen a dentist in years. That is ordinary, it is not a lecture, and there are concrete things we do about it.
- Talk firstYour first appointment can be a conversation in the consulting room with nothing in your mouth. Say so when you book and we will plan it that way.
- A stop signalWe agree a hand signal before we start. Raise it and everything stops immediately — no finishing the bit we are on.
- Quiet slotsFirst appointment of the morning, before the waiting room fills, is kept free for people who would rather not sit and wait.
- Paced treatmentLong lists can be broken into shorter visits, even when it would be quicker for us to do it all at once.
- Numbing done slowlyTopical gel first, then slow delivery. Most of what people remember as painful is anaesthetic given in a hurry.
- No commentaryWe will tell you what we found and what it needs. We will not comment on how long it has been.
Before you book
Questions we are asked
I am in pain today. Can I be seen?
Urgent slots are held every morning and afternoon and are offered first to patients in genuine pain, including people not yet registered with us. Send the booking form marked urgent, or ring the practice when reception opens — if we cannot see you the same day we will tell you where can.
At what age should children first be seen?
As soon as the first teeth appear, and ideally before there is anything wrong. Early visits are short, free of treatment and mostly about the child getting used to the room. Children under sixteen are examined alongside a registered parent's appointment at no extra charge.
Do you offer sedation?
We do not provide intravenous sedation on site. For most anxious patients the measures listed above are enough, and we would rather use them than sedate as a default. Where sedation is genuinely the right answer, we refer to a practice we work with regularly and stay involved in the plan.
Can treatment be paid for monthly?
Yes. Anything over £400 can be spread across monthly instalments with nothing added to the total. There is also a monthly care plan covering your examinations, hygiene visits and a discount on restorative work, which you can join once you are registered.
How do I move my records from another dentist?
Tell us your previous practice on the booking form and we will request your notes, X-rays and any scans. You do not need to have left them first, and you do not need to explain why you are moving. Recent X-rays often save you having new ones taken.
Is whitening suitable for everyone?
No. It does not change the colour of crowns, veneers or fillings, so a front tooth that has been restored can end up mismatched. It also cannot be done over untreated decay or unsettled gums. The suitability check exists so we can tell you this before you have paid for anything.
Do I really need X-rays at every check-up?
No, and we do not take them that way. Intervals are set from your decay risk and gum history — for some patients that is every two years, for others more often. We will always say what we are looking for before we take one.
Registration
Book a first visit
Send this and reception will reply with two or three appointment times that fit what you have asked for. Nothing is confirmed until you choose one.
- Response timeRequests sent on a working day are answered the same day, and Sunday requests on Monday morning.
- What to bringA list of any medicines you take, and the name of your previous dentist if you have one.
- In pain?Say so in the notes. Urgent requests are read first and offered a held slot.
- Changing an appointmentRearrange up to twenty-four hours ahead without a charge, as often as you need to.