Scott Arms Dental Practice ★9.5

Birmingham’s biggest surgery, not a boutique studio

Most names around it here are small cosmetic studios built on one or two dentists. Scott Arms in Great Barr is the opposite: one of the largest dental practices in the country, with twenty-two treatment rooms, a team of more than two hundred, and NHS and private care running side by side. It has looked after over half a million patients across the West Midlands, holds the British Dental Association Good Practice award, and is run by Portman Healthcare.

Treatments

Examinations, radiographs, white fillings, root fillings, scale and polish, extractions and wisdom teeth; then crowns, bridges, dentures, veneers, composite bonding, whitening, Invisalign and fixed braces, periodontal therapy, children’s dentistry and facial aesthetics. Implants have been placed here since 1990 — single teeth, implant-supported bridges, implant-stabilised dentures, full-arch and mini implants — on the Straumann and Biomet 3i systems.

Specialists on site

Scale buys depth a two-chair practice cannot keep. Dr Devan Raindi, a registered specialist periodontist trained at King’s College London, runs sessions given over to gum disease; Dr Aisling Byrne, a consultant orthodontist at Walsall Manor Hospital, has practised here since 2013. Dr Andrew Kalli holds an MSc in oral surgery and Dr Sukhdev Singh a postgraduate certificate in endodontics, so difficult extractions and root canals stay in the building. Patients single out Dr Danyal Saghir and Dr Gav Sidhu for extractions done without drama.

Anxious patients and emergencies

The approach is deliberately unhurried, and intravenous sedation follows a pre-operative check for those who cannot face the chair awake; an escort home is required. Its own round-the-clock emergency line offers urgent NHS appointments to its patients and to people registered with no dentist at all. Step-free access and parking, including disabled bays, are on site.

Who it suits

Families wanting NHS and private options in one place, anyone needing implants, gum treatment or orthodontics without an onward referral, nervous patients, and people in pain with no dentist of their own.

Frequently asked questions

Is NHS treatment available? Yes, alongside private care, with NHS appointments in each session subject to capacity.

Can I be seen urgently if I am not registered? Yes, urgent appointments are offered to unregistered patients too.

Will gum or implant work be referred elsewhere? No: a specialist periodontist, a consultant orthodontist and implant dentists work on site.

What if I am frightened of the dentist? Sedation is available, and you must bring someone to take you home afterwards.

Are children treated? Yes, children’s dentistry is part of the practice.

Opening hours