The British dental association released a report highlighting issues pertaining to a lack of access to an NHS dental practice for a large number of people. Indeed, many people have been forced to travel over 100 miles just to find a practice that has any space to add them to its books.

Access to a dentist is seen as a basic right for a UK citizen. Worryingly, it has been highlighted that this is not the case for many. Further more, due to a recent shake up in the NHS dental industry, some dentists have found it much more profitable to switch to the private sector. This has placed further strain on an already overloaded resource.

Hence the title of this article; “how much is your smile worth?” Should you put the condition of your teeth and indeed your health at risk, by avoiding the costs of private dentistry? Or should you seek help in the form of a dental insurance policy. This can be considered a small price to pay when your health and general wellbeing come into question.

Consider the average policy; it will cost you on average around £16 a month, with policies available for as cheap as £7-£8 a month. If you’re willing to do a bit of shopping around these prices can be easily achieved.

Once you’ve purchased a policy, you can expect to be covered for such eventualities as, general treatment, emergency treatment, overseas cover, oral cancer and other varying areas of risk.

Things to check on a prospective policy are; how many times will they pay out during the life of a policy, what is and isn’t covered and what percentage of a cost will be reimbursed to you.

All of this begs the very important question; can you afford to be without dental insurance?