Toothache
Pain has a cause, and the cause decides the treatment — decay, a cracked tooth, a failing filling, or an infection at the root. An examination tells us which. If it's keeping you awake, don't wait for a routine appointment.
Dental Practice, Kennington
General Dentistry in Kennington
The everyday care that keeps small problems small — check-ups, hygiene, white fillings and repairs, for the whole family. An examination is £45, and you'll know what's needed before anything is booked.
- Examination £45 · X-rays £20 each
- Amalgam-free — white fillings only
- Digital X-rays and intra-oral camera
- Children and nervous patients welcome
What is general dentistry?
General dentistry is the routine care that keeps your teeth and gums healthy — examinations, hygiene visits, fillings, crowns, root canal treatment and extractions.
It's the least glamorous part of dentistry and by far the most valuable. Almost everything expensive in a mouth started as something cheap that nobody caught in time. A £45 examination twice a year is what stops a £160 filling becoming an £850 root canal.
At Pure Elegant Smile you see Dr Nader Gavgani (GDC 75484), who has practised in the UK since 1999 — so the person examining you today is the person who'll notice what's changed at your next visit.
A check-up covers every tooth, your gums, your bite and the soft tissues — then you get a plain-English verdict on what, if anything, needs doing.
Step by step
What happens at a dental check-up?
We ask before we look
What's been bothering you, anything that's changed, your medical history and any medication you take. If you're anxious, this is the moment to say so — it changes how the rest of the appointment runs.
A full examination
Every tooth, your gums, your bite, and the soft tissues of your mouth — including a check for anything that shouldn't be there. Digital X-rays (£20 each) are taken where they're needed to see between and beneath teeth.
You see what we see
An intra-oral camera puts your own teeth on a screen, so a crack or a failing filling is something you can look at rather than something you're asked to take on trust.
A plain-English verdict
What's healthy, what needs treating, what we'll keep an eye on, and what can be left alone entirely. If more than one option makes sense, you'll hear all of them and what each costs.
You decide, in your own time
Nothing is booked in the same breath as it's suggested. You leave knowing the price, and you choose when to go ahead.
What we do
Common reasons people come in
- Urgent appointments
A chipped or broken tooth
Small chips are usually repaired with tooth-coloured composite in a single visit. Larger breaks may need a crown (£950) to hold the tooth together and protect what's left of it.
A cavity
Caught early, decay is a white filling from £160 and one appointment. Left too long, it reaches the nerve and becomes root canal treatment. This is the whole argument for regular check-ups in one sentence.
Bleeding or sore gums
Dental hygieneGums that bleed when you brush are inflamed, not normal. At the gingivitis stage it's reversible with a hygiene appointment and better technique at home. Left alone it becomes periodontitis, which isn't.
Stained or dull teeth
Teeth whiteningYears of coffee, tea, red wine and smoking dull the colour of enamel. A scale and polish (£100) removes surface staining; whitening (£395) lifts the colour of the tooth itself.
A missing tooth
Dental implantsA gap isn't only cosmetic — neighbouring teeth drift into it and the bite changes over time. It can be replaced with an implant, a bridge or a denture, and we'll talk you through which suits your mouth.
Prefer to talk? Call 0203 950 6620
Why we're an amalgam-free practice
Pure Elegant Smile is amalgam-free: every filling we place is a tooth-coloured composite, not a silver-grey metal one.
Composite bonds directly to the tooth, which means less healthy tooth has to be removed to hold it in place. It also matches your own enamel, so a repaired back tooth doesn't announce itself every time you laugh.
A composite filling starts at £160. If you have old metal fillings that are still sound, there's no need to rush to replace them — we'll tell you honestly when one is failing and when it's fine to leave.
Fees
How much does general dentistry cost in Kennington?
These are our published private fees. You'll be quoted from this list before treatment, not after it.
| Treatment | Price |
|---|---|
| Examination | £45 |
| Small X-ray (each) | £20 |
| Scale & polish with the dentist | £100 |
| Composite (white) filling | from £160 |
| Composite bonding | from £350 |
| Root canal — front tooth to canine | £550 |
| Root canal — pre-molars | £650 |
| Root canal — molars | £850 |
| Porcelain or metal-free crown | £950 |
| Bridge (metal-free, per unit) | £850 |
| Simple extraction | from £200 |
| Night guard | £280 |
Root canal consultations are complimentary. Dentures start from £850 per arch and are priced individually in the full fee guide.
If it's been years since your last dentist
You are in extremely ordinary company. A good proportion of the people who ring us haven't been for years, and almost all of them expect to be told off. Nobody here does that.
The first visit is a look and a conversation. Nothing is treated at that appointment unless you've specifically agreed to it in advance. If there's a lot to do, it gets sequenced sensibly — most urgent first, spread over appointments that suit you — rather than handed to you as one intimidating quote.
Tell whoever answers the phone that you're nervous or that it's been a long time. It's routine to hear, and it changes how your appointment is booked.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much is a dental check-up in Kennington?
An examination at Pure Elegant Smile is £45. Small X-rays are £20 each where they're needed, and a scale and polish with the dentist is £100.
How often should I have a check-up?
Every six months suits most people, and that's the interval we'd normally suggest. Some mouths need watching more closely and some genuinely need seeing less often — your dentist will tell you which you are rather than defaulting everyone to the same number.
Do you use white fillings or silver ones?
White only. Pure Elegant Smile is an amalgam-free practice, so every filling is a tooth-coloured composite that bonds to the tooth and matches your own enamel. Composite fillings start from £160.
Do you treat children?
Yes. We're a family-friendly practice and see patients of every age. Getting children comfortable with a dental chair early — before anything needs doing — is the best predictor of them looking after their teeth as adults.
Does a filling hurt?
You shouldn't feel the treatment itself. We apply a numbing gel to the gum before any injection and give the local anaesthetic time to work properly before starting. If you feel anything at all, you tell us and we stop.
What is root canal treatment and do I need it?
Root canal treatment saves a tooth whose nerve has become infected, by cleaning out the inside of the tooth and sealing it. It's needed when decay or a crack has reached the nerve — usually signalled by severe or lingering pain. At Pure Elegant Smile it costs £550 for a front tooth, £650 for a pre-molar and £850 for a molar.
Are you NHS or private?
Pure Elegant Smile is a private dental practice. Every fee is published in our fee guide so you can see the cost of a treatment before you book it.
Can I be seen quickly if a filling falls out?
Usually the same day. Ring 0203 950 6620 and tell reception what's happened — a lost filling or crown is treated as urgent because the exposed tooth is vulnerable.
Getting here
A family dentist for Kennington and nearby
We're on Kennington Lane in SE11, between Kennington and Vauxhall stations, and see families from across Kennington, Vauxhall, Lambeth, Waterloo, Newington, Oval, Stockwell and Elephant & Castle.
Appointments run until 7pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, which makes after-work and after-school visits straightforward.
Book your check-up
Twenty minutes, twice a year, is what keeps dentistry cheap, quick and dull. That's the goal.
Or call us on 0203 950 6620
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10am–7pm · Closed Wed, Sat, Sun97 Kennington Lane, London, SE11 4HQ
Reviewed by Dr Nader Gavgani, GDC 75484