Tavistock Dental London ★9.9

The practice other London dentists send their hard cases to

Tavistock Dental is a specialist referral centre as much as a private surgery. Dentists across the city pass on work they do not take themselves, and the specialists sit under one roof — oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, implant dentistry and orthodontics. The patient returns to their own dentist with a written report. Dentistry has been practised at this Bloomsbury address since 1931; the present principals took it on in 2010.

Treatments

Everyday dentistry runs alongside the referral work: check-ups, hygiene, fillings, gum disease treatment, extractions and same-day emergency appointments. Endodontics includes retreatment of canals that failed elsewhere. Implant work goes from a single tooth to All-on-4 and full-arch rehabilitation, with guided bone regeneration, grafting and sinus lift where the ridge is thin — Ankylos, PrimeTaper EV and MIS systems. Straightening runs on Invisalign, Spark and Angel aligners as well as fixed braces.

Sedation and technology

Intravenous sedation is run in-house by Dr Frances Carling-Thom, one of the two principals, whose interest is nervous patients: you stay conscious and answer questions, yet keep almost no memory of the appointment. A virtual consultation can come first. Behind the referral work sit 3D CBCT for implant planning, iTero scanning, CEREC crowns milled and fitted in one visit, and microscopes for root canal treatment.

The specialists

Samir Habib — specialist oral surgeon, FRCS England, three and a half decades on complex extractions and buried wisdom teeth. Adnan Chowdry — specialist endodontist from the Eastman Dental Institute, named on the UCL Dean’s List and a member of the British Endodontic Society. Kruti Desai — specialist periodontist, also Eastman-trained: gum disease and the upkeep of implants. Arjinder S. Chohan — implantologist with the Royal College of Surgeons diploma in implant dentistry, carrying each case from surgery to the final restoration.

Who it suits

Patients whose own dentist has run out of road: a root canal that failed, a wisdom tooth nobody wants to touch, advanced gum disease, a jaw needing a graft before implants. And phobic patients: reviewers describe falling asleep during root canal treatment.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a referral? No. Referrals arrive from other dentists, but patients also book directly.

Am I awake under intravenous sedation? Yes — conscious and responsive, with little memory of it afterwards.

Can a failed root canal be redone? Yes, retreatment is part of the specialist endodontic work here.

Is there enough bone for an implant? A 3D CBCT scan settles that; grafting and sinus lift are done on site.

Is this an NHS practice? No, it is private.

Opening hours