What is Bupa Smile Plan?
Bupa Smile Plan is a dental payment plan that helps you look after your smile year-round with regular appointments and bite-sized payments.
- Regular check-up and hygiene appointments to suit your oral health needs
- Spread the cost with bite-sized monthly payments
- Save up to 10% on included check-up and hygiene appointments2
- 10% off a range of other treatments†
- Stay on top of your oral health with scheduled care
Bupa Smile Plan explained
Step by step explanation | Watch in 45 seconds
You can sign up for Bupa Smile Plan at over 300 of our practices across the country. It’s available to anyone aged 18 and over – you don’t need insurance to access treatment at our practices.
2Equivalent appointment prices of included treatments (check-up & hygiene appointments) are an average of 10% less than when booked as a standalone appointment. (77% of 332 participating practices.)
A plan to suit your needs
For most patients, our Routine plan, which consists of two check-ups and two hygiene appointments each year, is sufficient to help you maintain good oral health**. However, some patients may have different needs or preferences. For example, you may wish to have extra hygiene appointments if you’ve suffered with gum disease or you’ve had an implant placed – you can select this option when you sign up. We call this the Enhanced plan.
If you’re unsure about the right combination of check-ups and hygiene appointments for your oral health needs, please speak to your dentist.
Choose from:
Appointments per year |
Routine Plan |
|
|---|---|---|
| Exisiting patient | New patient | |
| New patient check-up | n/a | 1 |
| Check up appointment | 2 | 1 |
| Hygiene appointment | 2 | 2 |
Appointments per year |
Enhanced Plan |
|
|---|---|---|
| Exisiting patient | New patient | |
| New patient check-up | n/a | 1 |
| Check up appointment | 2 | 1 |
| Hygiene appointment | 4 | 4 |
New patients will have a new patient exam in place of a standard check-up for their first appointment. This allows your dentist to assess your oral health thoroughly. After the first year, all new patient plans convert to an existing patient plan.
All plans will also include up to two X-rays per year, where clinically required.
Why choose Bupa Smile Plan?
It’s not always easy to make visiting the dentist a priority. With Bupa Smile Plan, committing to regular dental appointments will help you to maintain a good level of oral health, which in turn supports your overall wellbeing.
Regular monitoring means your dentist can spot concerns - such as tooth decay and gum disease - before they worsen, or provide treatment to avoid them altogether. At every check-up, your dentist also screens for mouth cancer, which affects one in 55 men and one in 108 women UK-wide***.
With Bupa Smile Plan, you benefit from:
- Manageable payments to help you budget for routine appointments
- A saving of up to 10% on included check-up and hygiene appointments
- Expert dental advice with plenty of time to raise any concerns you may have
- Regular preventative care - avoid future oral concerns that carry additional costs
- 10% saving on selected private dental treatments†
- Private alternative to NHS with reduced waiting times
- A committed plan to encourage you to attend the dentist regularly
How do payments work?
The total cost of all appointments in your plan is added up and split into 12 manageable monthly payments, collected by monthly Direct Debit. See how we calculate the cost of your Bupa Smile Plan.
What's included in your plan?
Your monthly payment plan covers
- Check-up and hygiene appointments to suit your needs
- Up to two routine dental X-rays per year*
- Preventative dental advice
- 10% off selected private dental treatments†
10% discount† applies to:
-
- Fillings, inlays and onlays
- Emergency appointments
- Dentures
- Bridges
- Crowns
- Gum disease treatment (non-surgical)
- Hygiene services
- Tooth extractions (non-surgical)
- Additional X-rays required
Discount only applies to the above treatments, all others are excluded†.
How much does it cost?
Your monthly payments = the cost of your planned private check-ups and hygiene appointments at your practice, divided by 12 and rounded to the nearest 50p.
The typical monthly cost for a routine Bupa Smile Plan based on 2 check-ups and 2 hygiene appointments per year is £24.50 per month. However, prices vary per practice – calculate the price of Bupa Smile Plan at your practice.
How do I pay?
The 12 monthly payments are collected via direct debit.
Registration fee
You’ll need to pay a small, one-off set-up fee of £10, which will be taken around the time of your first monthly payment. Aside from this fee, you won’t pay any extra for signing up to the plan, and you get access to additional benefits.
What’s the difference between dental insurance and Bupa Smile Plan?
A dental payment plan and a dental insurance policy are different ways of paying for your dental care. Put simply, Bupa Smile Plan spreads the cost of your routine check-ups and hygiene appointments throughout the year. An insurance policy can cover routine and restorative treatment for a monthly fee, what is included is based on your budget allocation.
Find more information on different ways to pay.
Simple sign up
Bupa Smile Plan is quick and easy to set up online, on the phone or in person at a practice. Many of our practices also offer online booking, making it simpler than ever to get the appointments you need.
Your contract of care is between you and Oasis Dental Care Ltd, trading as Bupa Dental Care, which operates your Bupa Dental Care practice. Your terms and conditions (your Agreement) will be available in the Bupa Smile Plan portal, along with all the details of your plan.
Your payments will be collected via Direct Debit and sent to your dental practice to carry out treatment and provide continuing care. Bupa Dental Care will appear on your bank statement.
Your monthly Bupa Smile Plan fee is calculated using the private treatment costs at your practice. The cost of your agreed number of check-up and hygiene appointments are split into 12 bite-sized payments, rounded to the nearest 50p, making budgeting easier. You’ll receive two X-rays free of charge, if clinically necessary, for routine monitoring. A one-off registration fee of £10 applies upon joining.
The fees are reviewed annually and are based on the cost of treatment at your practice. If we need to make changes to the cost of your plan, you’ll receive a minimum of 30 days’ notice of any change to your fee.
Your Bupa Smile Plan gives you access to:
- The agreed number of check-up and hygiene appointments
- Routine monitoring dental X-rays, as and when clinically required (up to two per year)
- Preventative dental advice
- Plus 10% off selected private dental treatments*
Your plan does not cover:
- Pharmaceutical items, prescription fees, third-party fees (for example referral to another practice for a CT scan or X-ray) or laboratory fees.
- Dental appointments, advice or treatment provided by a dental practitioner who is not a Bupa dental clinician at the practice or who does not offer services under the plan.
- The cost of any specialist treatment or advice provided by a specialist dentist if the clinician makes such a referral during an appointment covered under your plan.
Your Bupa Smile Plan covers your regular check-up and dental hygiene needs as well as a 10% discount on selected private dental care treatments. The full list of inclusions: additional x-rays (in your dental practice), fillings, inlays/onlays, gum disease treatment (non-surgical), oral hygiene and disease prevention, tooth extractions (non-surgical), dentures, bridges, crowns and emergency appointments.
The following treatments are excluded from the 10% discount: mouthguards/gumshields, dental implants and implant-related treatments, orthodontic treatment (braces/aligners), veneers, cosmetic bonding, endodontics (including root canal treatment), oral surgery and gum surgery, dental sedation, teeth whitening, facial aesthetic treatments, third-party costs such as laboratory fees, X-rays carried out by a third-party provider, consultations and treatments carried out by a specialist.
Your Bupa Smile Plan benefits are available over a full 12-month period from the date of your first payment. Please ensure you book your routine appointments within that period, as your treatment allowance will reset and any unused services cannot be used in the following 12-month period.
If you need to update any of your personal details (address, bank account etc.), log in to your account on the Bupa Smile Plan online portal and follow the simple instructions.
If you need to change your Bupa Dental Care practice, please speak to your practice team. They can help you find an alternative Bupa Dental Care practice offering Bupa Smile Plan. If you’re happy with the price at the new practice, you can transfer your plan.
If you are setting up more than one plan, e.g. one for yourself and one for your partner, you’ll need to use a separate email address for each patient.
Your Bupa Smile Plan agreement is between you and your Bupa Dental Care practice. While we would expect you to receive your ongoing care from your usual dentist, it may be necessary for another Bupa clinician to care for you from time to time due to extenuating circumstances. If your dentist changes permanently, we will notify you by email.
Please contact your practice, who will be able to cancel your plan for you with 30 days’ written notice. Please remember to cancel your Direct Debit after your final payment has been taken.
Yes. You can cancel your Bupa Smile Plan for any reason during a 14-day cooling-off period after signing up. If you have made a payment within your cooling-off period and you change your mind, please let us know straight away. Your first monthly payment will be refunded to you, minus the registration fee you have been charged (providing you have not received any treatment in this time).
After your 14-day cooling-off period has finished, there is a minimum three-month term from the commencement date of the plan. After this period, you can cancel at any time by contacting your practice and providing 30 days’ written notice.
We expect every part of your experience with Bupa Dental Care to reflect our high standards of customer care. If we have not met your expectations, please contact your local practice manager in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response from your local practice manager, please see our complaints process for further information about how we can help.
Terms and conditions:
1. Applicants must be aged 18 or over.
† 10% discount applies to:
††Exclusions: mouthguards/gumshields, dental implants and implant-related treatments, orthodontic treatment (braces/aligners), veneers, cosmetic bonding, endodontics and root canal treatments, oral surgery and gum surgery, sedation, teeth whitening, facial aesthetic treatments, third-party costs such as laboratory fees, X-rays carried out by a third-party provider, consultations and treatments carried out by a specialist.
** Frequency of checkup and hygiene appointments will be decided by your dentist based on your dental risk using the NICE guidance on dental recalls. For a lot of patients this is usually 2 check-ups and 2 dental hygiene appointments per year but your dentist will discuss with you if the frequency of your appointments needs to be amended.
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Bupa Dental Care is a trading name of Oasis Dental Care Limited. Registered in England and Wales No: 00478127. Registered office: Bupa Dental Care, Vantage Office Park, Old Gloucester Road, Hambrook, Bristol, United Kingdom BS16 1GW.
Oasis Dental Care Limited has a number of trading names including Bupa Dental Care. Please see the list of our different trading names.
