Cost guide
What "all-inclusive" actually excludes
"All-inclusive" is a marketing phrase, not a specification. It is not dishonest by itself, but it describes a package whose boundaries only become visible when you ask where they are. This is the list of lines that most often sit outside them.
The one question that does most of the work
"Please list what is not included." A provider who can answer that immediately, in writing, has thought about it. One who cannot has told you the boundary has not been drawn yet, which means it will be drawn later, when you are less able to argue about it.
What clinical work sits outside the package?
| Line | Why it is often excluded |
|---|---|
| The in-person examination and imaging | Sometimes charged separately, sometimes credited against treatment. Ask which |
| Preparatory treatment | Gum treatment, root treatment or extractions found on examination. Frequently outside the quoted package |
| Bone grafting or sinus work | Cannot be confirmed from photographs, so rarely priced in advance |
| Additional teeth | A package covers a stated number of units. Anything found on examination is extra |
| Temporary restorations | Sometimes included, sometimes not, and rarely stated either way |
| Adjustments and remakes | Ask what is covered during the visit, and what is covered after you leave |
| Follow-up visits | How many are included, and what a further one costs |
| Medication | Prescriptions during or after treatment |
What travel costs are usually excluded?
- Flights. Very often excluded even where accommodation is included
- Extra nights if a stage takes longer than planned
- A companion's accommodation and transfers
- The return trip for a staged treatment, check whether the package covers one visit or all of them
- Transfers beyond a specified airport-to-hotel run
- Travel insurance. Standard policies usually exclude planned medical treatment, so this is rarely as covered as people assume
The lines nobody lists
- Exchange rate movement between quotation and payment. Ask which currency the price is fixed in, and who bears the difference
- Card or transfer fees on international payment
- Cancellation. What is refundable, on what notice, and what is not
- Rescheduling if your circumstances change
- Aftercare in the UK: someone has to provide it, and it is rarely the clinic that treated you
- Remedial work and the travel it would require. This is the most expensive thing on the list to discover late
How do you compare two package prices?
- Ask for the lines behind the total, even where a package price is offered. A provider can still honour the package price and show you what it is made of
- Ask which lines are firm and which are indicative. "Indicative" is not a criticism. It is honest about what cannot be known before an examination. What matters is knowing which is which
- Ask what would move an indicative line, and roughly how much. A specific answer is more useful than a confident one
- Add the excluded lines back in before comparing two providers. The cheaper package is often the one that excludes more
- Compare like with like: same number of units, same materials, same number of visits, same aftercare
Why we quote indicatively
Every price we put in front of you is indicative, and we say so. That is not a hedge. It follows from something the General Dental Council's guidance makes plain: a qualified dentist should assess you before giving a treatment plan and a cost estimate. Anything quoted from photographs alone is provisional until someone has examined you.
So the honest version is: here is the plan, here is what it is based on, here is what it would cost, here is what has not been established yet, and here is what happens if the examination changes it. A firm price offered before an examination is either being guessed, or is going to be revised later.
A short script you can use
Copy these into a message and send them to any provider:
1. Please list what is not included in this price.
2. Which lines are firm and which are indicative?
3. What would change an indicative line, and by roughly how much?
4. Does this cover one visit or all of the visits in the plan?
5. What is charged if the examination changes the plan?
6. What is refundable, and on what notice?
Six questions. The answers, or the absence of them, will tell you what the total actually is.
Ask us those six questions
You will get an itemised indicative plan with the exclusions written down, before anything is booked.
Your consultation and assessment are free, and asking commits you to nothing.
Related guides
- What a treatment plan should contain before you pay
- How to assess a Turkish dental clinic
- Questions to ask before dental treatment abroad
- Aftercare, and putting things right
Sources
- General Dental Council: Going abroad for dental treatment
- NHS: Treatment abroad checklist
Last reviewed 7 September 2026. General information about how treatment is priced. Not clinical advice, and not a quotation.
