Voxletic Research · July 2026 edition
Dental care in the UK: what 18,961 Google reviews reveal
British patients don't blame their dentists - they blame everything around them. Of all six countries in this index, the UK shows the widest gap between front-desk complaints and clinical ones, and getting an appointment at all ranks among the top frustrations.
Data collected April-July 2026
The clinic landscape
Source: Google Maps listings, July 2026
What patients complain about
- Front desk & access1,386
- Clinical treatment568
Source: 1-2 star Google reviews, LLM-classified against a 10-topic taxonomy
City by city
| City | Clinics | Avg. rating | % rated 4.5★+ | Reviews published | Highest-rated clinic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 159 | 4.34 | 63.1% | 23,446 | Teeth & Face (5.0★, 466) |
| Bristol | 163 | 4.60 | 72.9% | 11,710 | Bristol Dental Anaesthetic Clinic (4.9★, 722) |
| Edinburgh | 152 | 4.61 | 72.6% | 14,624 | The Row Dental Edinburgh (5.0★, 395) |
| Glasgow | 151 | 4.53 | 73.2% | 8,627 | Smmmile (5.0★, 108) |
| Leeds | 166 | 4.51 | 74.5% | 26,270 | Swinnow Dental (5.0★, 313) |
| Liverpool | 159 | 4.48 | 67.7% | 6,624 | Dr Rez Dental (5.0★, 461) |
| London | 168 | 4.77 | 91.5% | 27,245 | Thurloe Street Dental South Kensington (5.0★, 533) |
| Manchester | 165 | 4.44 | 68.1% | 11,709 | White Smile Ancoats - Laser teeth whitening Manchester (5.0★, 231) |
| Newcastle | 151 | 4.40 | 61.7% | 15,709 | Kingswalk Dental Implant Practice (5.0★, 609) |
| Sheffield | 167 | 4.59 | 77.4% | 19,414 | Harley Private Dental - Health & Wellbeing (5.0★, 484) |
Source: Google Maps listings per city, July 2026
Highest-rated clinics
| # | Clinic | City | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingswalk Dental Implant Practice | Newcastle | 5.0★ | 609 |
| 2 | Thurloe Street Dental South Kensington | London | 5.0★ | 533 |
| 3 | Harley Private Dental - Health & Wellbeing | Sheffield | 5.0★ | 484 |
| 4 | Teeth & Face | Birmingham | 5.0★ | 466 |
| 5 | Dr Rez Dental | Liverpool | 5.0★ | 461 |
| 6 | The Row Dental Edinburgh | Edinburgh | 5.0★ | 395 |
| 7 | The Dental Practice at Dronfield Woodhouse | Sheffield | 5.0★ | 379 |
| 8 | Higgins & Winter Dental & Implant Clinic | Newcastle | 5.0★ | 314 |
| 9 | Swinnow Dental | Leeds | 5.0★ | 313 |
| 10 | New Smile Dental Care | Leeds | 5.0★ | 304 |
Only clinics with at least 100 published Google reviews qualify; ties are ordered by review count.
Key findings
- 01
The UK has the widest front-desk complaint gap in this index: access and reception problems appear 2.44x more often than clinical complaints in 1-2 star reviews.
- 02
286 of 1,468 negative reviews (19.5%) mention the difficulty of getting an appointment - the highest share of the six countries.
- 03
The average clinic across ten UK cities holds a 4.53 rating, with 72.7% at 4.5★ or higher.
Want to know the full methodology - sampling, tagging taxonomy, limitations? Contact us
Frequently asked questions
- How many dental clinics are there in the UK?
- This index analyzed 1,601 dental clinics visible on Google Maps across the 10 largest cities - not a complete national register, but the clinics patients actually find when they search. Of these, 1,370 have a public rating.
- What is the average Google rating of a dental clinic in the UK?
- 4.53 out of 5, computed across 1,370 rated clinics on Google Maps. 72.7% of clinics rate 4.5★ or higher and 12.6% fall below 4.0.
- What do dental patients complain about most in the UK?
- In the 1,468 one- and two-star reviews analyzed, front-desk and access problems are mentioned 2.44x more often than the clinical treatment. The most-cited operational topic: front-desk service & attitude (596 reviews).
- Which are the highest-rated dental clinics in the UK?
- Among clinics with at least 100 Google reviews in the cities analyzed: Kingswalk Dental Implant Practice (Newcastle, 5.0★, 609 reviews); Thurloe Street Dental South Kensington (London, 5.0★, 533 reviews); Harley Private Dental - Health & Wellbeing (Sheffield, 5.0★, 484 reviews).
- What is the best dental clinic in London?
- Judged by Google rating across the 168 clinics listed in London in this index, the highest-rated clinic with at least 50 published reviews is Thurloe Street Dental South Kensington, at 5.0★ across 533 reviews.
- What is the best dental clinic in Leeds?
- Judged by Google rating across the 166 clinics listed in Leeds in this index, the highest-rated clinic with at least 50 published reviews is Swinnow Dental, at 5.0★ across 313 reviews.
- What is the best dental clinic in Birmingham?
- Judged by Google rating across the 159 clinics listed in Birmingham in this index, the highest-rated clinic with at least 50 published reviews is Teeth & Face, at 5.0★ across 466 reviews.
- What is the best dental clinic in Sheffield?
- Judged by Google rating across the 167 clinics listed in Sheffield in this index, the highest-rated clinic with at least 50 published reviews is Harley Private Dental - Health & Wellbeing, at 5.0★ across 484 reviews.
How to cite this report
The data may be cited freely with attribution and a link to this page.
Voxletic Research, “The State of Dental Services in Europe 2026”, voxletic.com