It is the aim of this practice to provide quality dental care to our patients and to use clinical time effectively. To achieve this aim, we have an appointment management and cancellation policy.nnRegistration at the practice occurs after the first appointment. Patients will be automatically deregistered when they have not attended the practice for a comprehensive examination as advised by the NICE Guidelines within the last 24 months. A new patient examination will be required to reregister. Reregistration will be subject to appointment availability.

u003ch3u003eManagement of appointmentsu003c/h3u003e

Appointments can be made or rescheduled by calling our dedicated reception team on 01732 252521, by email at info@smileologysevenoaks.co.uk or by accessing our online booking form at u003ca href=u0022https://onlineappointment.carestack.uk/?dn=smileologyu0026amp;ln=100003u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022u003eBook Online Sevenoaksu003c/au003e

u003ch3u003eRemindersu003c/h3u003e

E-mail reminders are sent to patients 10 days and again 2 days before any appointment and text reminders are sent to patients 24 hours before any appointment. Patients attending to see the hygienist are called the day before their appointment. Patients are requested to inform the practice of any changes to their

u003ch3u003eCancellation or delay of an appointment by the practiceu003c/h3u003e

We will only cancel or delay a patient’s appointment in unavoidable circumstances.nnIn such cases, we will take the following steps:

u003culu003enu003cliu003eThe patient will be contacted as soon as the practice is aware of the need to cancel or delay the appointment. We will explain the reason for the cancellation or delay.u003c/liu003enu003cliu003enAt the time of contact, the patient will be offered a new appointment at the earliest time available.u003c/liu003enu003cliu003e If the patient is unable to commit to a new appointment during that contact, we will ask them to get in touch at a later time, when we will offer them a priority appointment.u003c/liu003en

u003ch3u003eCancellation of an appointment or missed appointment by a patientu003c/h3u003e

Patients are requested to give at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel a dental appointment. Cancellations should be made by telephone on: 01732 252521. Late cancellations and missed appointments represent a cost to the practice, when other patients could have been seen in the time set aside for the patient.

Repeated late cancellations or missed appointments may affect our ability to offer future appointments. We reserve the right to ask a patient to find another dental practice if they continue to miss appointments.

If more than three appointments are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice, we may be unable to guarantee continuation of treatment or future appointment availability.

There is a fee for dental appointments that are missed or cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice. A missed appointment fee is from £60 per missed appointment, with an additional £2 per minute for each appointment over 30 minutes. If the practice is able to fill the appointment, we may be able to waiver the fee.

It is our aim to telephone or write to patients after a missed appointment to understand the reason for non-attendance and to inform them about any applicable fee or decision regarding future appointments or treatment at the practice. We understand that cancellations are sometimes unavoidable due to illness or emergencies and we will take account of all valid circumstances.

Any appeals about missed or cancelled appointment decisions by a patient should be made in writing to the practice manager Alice Flight.