Surgeries and treatments
Dental assessment (scale and polish) prices at UK vets
What UK vet practices charge for this item, from their own published price lists.
Published prices
No practice on our list publishes this price yet: vet businesses with 15 or more practices or out-of-hours centres must publish it, if they offer it, on each practice's website from 23 December 2026, and smaller practices from 23 March 2027.
Struggling with the cost? See who can get help from PDSA, Blue Cross, RSPCA branches and others, and how to find the cheapest paid practice: low-cost and charity vet care.
What it is
The official name is "Dental assessment (initial examination of mouth, scale and polish)": an examination of the mouth plus cleaning the teeth. It is one of the four items whose price list line must show which of seven components are included.
Official price-list name: Dental assessment (initial examination of mouth, scale and polish)
(CMA Order, Schedule 1).
What's included
For a dental assessment, castration and both kinds of spay, the price must include each of these seven components if the practice considers it typically necessary, and the price list must carry a tick box for each one so you can see what is in the price and what is not (Art. 7(2)(e)):
- General anaesthesia
- Local anaesthesia
- Sedation
- Post-operative pain relief
- Hospitalisation and monitoring
- Pre-operative blood tests
- Post-operative check-ups
An unticked component is not in the price, so you would pay for it separately if your pet needs it.
- Anything that is an essential part of the service, and VAT (Art. 7(2)(d) and (f))
Why the price varies
- The ticks. The practice includes the components it considers typically necessary and ticks them; an unticked component is not in the price (Art. 7(2)(e)).
- Complexity. Every list must say that its prices are for the typical case and may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). A scale and polish that turns into extractions is not the typical case.
- Care plans. The CMA found some large groups' plans gave discounts on dental work (final report Appendix G, footnote 5).
- Your pet's band. Where the price depends on species or weight, the list must show it for a cat and five dog bands, from under 10 kg to 60 kg and over (Art. 7(2)(c)). A practice that charges the same for every animal shows one price.
Background
Before the Order, dental prices were rarely online: of practice websites that showed any prices, only 13% listed prices for routine dentistry (final report summary, paragraph 40).
Questions to ask the practice
- Which of the seven components are ticked?
- If extractions are needed, how will you contact me and how are they priced?
- Is a pre-anaesthetic blood test included, or priced separately?
We explain prices, not treatment. Ask your vet about the clinical choices for your own pet.
The rules
What the practice's price list must show, with the Order's article references
The exact name from Schedule 1, “Dental assessment (initial examination of mouth, scale and polish)”, with no free-text description (Art. 7(2)(a)).
As for every item: each version on its own line with the standard one marked, a cat price and five dog bands where the price depends on the animal, and VAT included, kept up to date and changed before a higher price is charged (Art. 7(2)(b), (c), (f) and (g), and 7(5)).
A tick box for each of seven components, showing which are in the price (Art. 7(2)(e)).
Any third-party fees for parts of the work done by someone else (Art. 7(2)(k)).
Large vet groups must publish from 23 December 2026 and smaller practices from 23 March 2027 (Art. 3 and 7).
Unhappy with a bill or a price? Our guide explains how to complain, from the practice's own process to free mediation.
Questions
Does a dental assessment include extractions?
The item is an examination, scale and polish for the typical case. Extractions are not part of the official name; ask how the practice prices them.
Why might my bill be higher than the listed price?
Listed prices are for the typical case. Each price list must say so, and must warn that prices may go up in more complex or complicated cases (Art. 7(2)(l)). The price must still include anything that is an essential part of the service (Art. 7(2)(d)).
How up to date are the prices here?
Every price shows the date we last checked it and links to the practice's own page. We re-check weekly, and daily from 23 to 31 December 2026. If a price looks wrong, email [email protected].
Sources
- Competition and Markets Authority, The Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 (published 22 September 2026): Article 3 (compliance dates), Article 7 (price list) and Schedule 1 (the 36 price-list items).
- CMA, Veterinary services for household pets: summary of the final report (24 March 2026).
- CMA, Final report Appendix G: whether LVG pet care plans provide value for money (24 March 2026).
- Practice prices: each practice's own published price list, linked next to every price.