Making a complaint
If you're unhappy with any part of your care, or with the service you've received from any of our dentists or staff, please let us know. We have a practice complaints procedure, and we'll take your concern seriously and deal with it promptly.
How to complain
Talk to us. Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily at the time, with the person concerned. Just tell a member of the team.
If that doesn't resolve it, tell us as soon as you can. For a complaint about your treatment, speak to the dentist who normally sees you, or ask for an appointment with Dr Ross Cutts, our Practice Principal (GDC 78162). For anything else, contact our Practice Manager, Gaynor Cutts (GDC 148673). They will explain how the complaints procedure works.
Be as clear as you can about what happened, when, and who was involved. It helps us look into it properly.
You can contact us:
- In person or by phone: Cirencester Dental Practice, 01285 640248; Stow-on-the-Wold Dental Practice, 01451 832265
- By email: reception@
cirencesterdentalpractice.com or reception@ stowonthewolddentalpractice.com - By post: Practice Manager, Cirencester Dental Practice, The Old Post Office, 12 Castle Street, Cirencester GL7 1QA
A copy of our complaints procedure is also on display at reception in both practices.
When to complain
Please tell us as soon as possible, ideally within a few days or at most a few weeks, because it is easier to find out what happened while it is fresh. Otherwise, please let us have the details of your complaint:
- within 6 months of the event you are complaining about, or
- within 6 months of finding out about the problem, as long as that is within 12 months of the event.
What we'll do
We'll acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.
We aim to have looked into it within 10 working days of the date you raised it with us.
We'll then explain what we found, or offer you a meeting with the people involved.
When we look into your complaint, we aim to:
- find out what happened and what went wrong;
- give you the chance to discuss the problem with those concerned, if you would like to;
- make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate;
- identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn't happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you're complaining on behalf of someone else, we need to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are unable to give it because of physical or mental illness, or are a child under 16.
If you're not satisfied
We hope you'll use our complaints procedure first: it gives us the chance to put things right and to improve our practice. It doesn't affect your right to take your complaint further.
Dental Complaints Service
Treatment at our practices is private. If you feel you can't raise your complaint with us, or you're unhappy with the outcome after we've looked into it, you can contact the Dental Complaints Service. It is run by the General Dental Council and helps private dental patients and dental professionals resolve complaints fairly. It is free to use. You'll find its contact details on the General Dental Council's website, gdc-uk.org (opens in a new tab).
General Dental Council
If you're concerned about a dental professional's fitness to practise, for example their conduct, health or the standard of their work, you can raise it with the General Dental Council (GDC), the regulator for all dental professionals in the UK.
General Dental Council, Fifty Paddington, 50 Eastbourne Terrace, London W2 6LG · 020 7167 6000 · gdc-uk.org (opens in a new tab)
Denplan members
If you're a member of Denplan through our practice, you can also contact Denplan for advice at denplan.co.uk (opens in a new tab) or on 0800 169 7220.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both of our practices. It doesn't investigate individual complaints, but you can tell it about your experience of care on its website, cqc.org.uk (opens in a new tab).
Complaints about this website or your personal information
If your concern is about how we've used your personal information, see our privacy notice, which also explains how to contact the Information Commissioner's Office.
Compliments and feedback
We like to hear when things go well, too, and what we could do better. Email office@
This procedure follows the Patient Complaint Policy (opens in a new tab) of Cirencester Dental Practice.