Dentists' charges for check-ups are soaring

The price of a check-up at the dentists can vary by as much as 200 per cent depending on where you live in the country.

The research from medical comparison service whatclinic.com found that an average dental check-up can cost £68 in Cambridge but only £26 in less-affluent Stoke-on-Trent.

Researchers checked more than 11,000 private dentists across the UK for their charges and found that the cost of an average check-up had shot up 10 per cent from £36 to £39 in the past year as competition for places at practices hots up.

This represents an increase nearly four times the rate of inflation.

According to the data, the most expensive locations are Cambridge (£68) and Plymouth and Edinburgh (£63), while the cheapest are Swindon (£20), Reading (£22), Stoke-on-Trent and Oxford (both £26).

“These figures highlight the wide variation in prices for something as basic as a check-up, which most of us will have on a fairly regular basis,” Caelen King, the chief executive officer of whatClinic.com, said.

“Even in the same towns and cities, the price of a standard check-up can vary quite a lot between dental clinics.”