Methodology
Version 0.1-pilot, updated 22 October 2026. Every score in the UK Dental Transparency Index can be recomputed from the published data and the rules on this page.
Operated by Ballıpınar Dental, a dental clinic in Antalya. Ballıpınar Dental is not scored, and no commercial relationship affects any score. How we score →
What we measure — and what we don't
We score what a dental practice publishes about itself and what public records show: whether you can see who will treat you and check their registration, whether prices are published, how easy the practice is to reach, how its Google reviews add up, its record with the Care Quality Commission, and which services it documents.
- It does not measure clinical quality, treatment outcomes or a dentist's skill. A high score is not a recommendation to be treated at a practice; a low score is not a statement that a practice gives poor care — most often it means the practice publishes less that we can verify.
- It is not medical advice. Talk to a registered dental professional about your own treatment.
- Unverified scores zero, and is not a negative finding. When we cannot check something — the website refused our request, the page would not load — the criterion earns no points and is listed on the practice's page under “Data we could not verify”. It is never counted against the practice.
- Positions are not for sale. No practice pays, or can pay, to be listed, to change its score or to change its position.
- Ballıpınar Dental is not scored. This site is operated by Ballıpınar Dental, a dental clinic in Antalya, Türkiye. It does not appear in the index, and is not compared with the practices in it. See the disclaimer and conflict-of-interest policy.
The formula
Each practice is assessed on 26 criteria in 6 categories. Every criterion has a fixed number of points (tables below), and a practice earns all, part or none of them. The score is:
score = 100 × Σ points earned ÷ Σ points available
“Available” means applicable. The two CQC criteria apply only in England — dentistry in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has other regulators — so outside England they are marked not applicable and leave the denominator, rather than costing the practice 15 points it could never earn. Category columns in the tables show raw points out of the category's applicable maximum.
Who is ranked. A practice is ranked when we could reach its website and verify something in at least three of the six categories. Others are listed without a rank, with whatever we could verify. Equal scores share a rank.
| Category | Points | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Information transparency | 20 | 5 |
| Price transparency | 20 | 7 |
| Access & availability | 15 | 5 |
| Public reputation | 20 | 2 |
| Regulatory record | 15 | 2 |
| Documented services | 10 | 5 |
Markers
- ✓ verified yes — full points
- ◐ partly — part of the points
- ✗ verified no — checked, and not met
- ? unverified — we could not check it: zero points, not a negative finding
- – not applicable — left out of the denominator
Every criterion
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Working website | 4 | The practice has its own website and it loads. A missing website scores no; a site that refused or failed our check is unverified. |
| Dentist names published | 4 | The practice's own site names its dentists. Two or more named dentists score in full; a single name scores partly. |
| GDC registration numbers published | 4 | A General Dental Council registration number is published on the practice's own site, so a patient can look the dentist up on the GDC register. |
| Treatment list published | 4 | The practice's own site lists its treatments: at least five distinct treatment types in full, three or four partly. |
| Address published on own site | 4 | The practice's postcode appears on its own website, not only on a map listing. |
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Fee guide published | 8 | A fee page (a page whose address names fees, prices, costs or charges) carries at least one £ figure. A £ figure elsewhere on the site, with no fee page, scores partly. |
| Check-up / examination price | 2 | A £ price appears next to an examination, check-up or consultation on the practice's own site. |
| Hygiene appointment price | 2 | A £ price appears next to a hygiene appointment or scale and polish. |
| Filling price | 2 | A £ price appears next to a filling. |
| Crown price | 2 | A £ price appears next to a crown. |
| Implant price | 2 | A £ price appears next to an implant. |
| Whitening price | 2 | A £ price appears next to tooth whitening. |
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| NHS / private status stated | 3 | The practice's own site states its NHS or private position — NHS patients, NHS bands, private-only, accepting or not accepting new patients, a payment plan. A passing mention of NHS 111 does not count. |
| Open on Saturdays | 3 | The opening hours on the practice's Google Maps listing show it open on Saturdays. |
| Weekday evening hours (after 6pm) | 3 | The Google Maps opening hours show the practice open after 6pm on at least one weekday. |
| Online booking | 3 | The practice's own site offers online booking, directly or through a booking provider. |
| Emergency appointments | 3 | The practice's own site mentions emergency, urgent or same-day appointments. |
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) | 12 | The Google rating, adjusted towards a prior of 4.0 weighted as 25 reviews (below), then scaled so that an adjusted 3.5 scores 0 and 5.0 scores the full 12. |
| Google review volume | 8 | How many Google reviews the rating rests on, on a logarithmic scale: 500 reviews or more score the full 8. |
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Registered with CQC | 9 | The practice is matched to a location in the Care Quality Commission's care directory, by postcode and phone, or postcode and a close name match. England only — dentistry in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is not regulated by the CQC, so these criteria do not apply there and leave the denominator. |
| CQC check within the last 5 years | 6 | The CQC's most recent check of that location is within the last five years. An older check scores partly. |
| Criterion | Points | How it is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Dental implants | 2 | The practice's own site mentions dental implants. |
| Orthodontics / clear aligners | 2 | The practice's own site mentions orthodontics, braces or clear aligners. |
| Sedation | 2 | The practice's own site mentions sedation or care for nervous patients. |
| CBCT / 3D imaging | 2 | The practice's own site mentions CBCT, cone-beam or 3D imaging. |
| Children's dentistry | 2 | The practice's own site mentions children's or family dentistry. |
The review adjustment
A 5.0 from eight reviews and a 4.9 from seven hundred are not the same evidence, so the Google rating is adjusted towards a prior before it is scored — the same Bayesian average used by the reference index this method follows:
adjusted = (4.0 × 25 + rating × reviews) ÷ (25 + reviews)
In words: every practice starts as though it had 25 reviews averaging 4.0, and its own reviews pull it away from there in proportion to how many there are. The adjusted rating is then scaled so that 3.5 scores nothing and 5.0 scores the full 12 points. Review volume is scored separately on a logarithmic scale, reaching its full 8 points at 500 reviews.
- 4.9 from 692 reviews → adjusted 4.87 → 10.9 of 12 rating points, 8 of 8 volume points.
- 5.0 from 8 reviews → adjusted 4.24 → 5.9 of 12 rating points, 2.8 of 8 volume points.
The rating and count are Google's, shown with their source and the date we read them (“Google Maps, as of …”). We never read, quote or score the text of a review.
Data sources
- The practice's own website, read by an automated check of its home page and the pages it links for fees, team, treatments, NHS information and contact. Only the practice's own site counts for these criteria — not directories, not other review sites. We publish the page each point came from, never the text on it.
- Google Maps — the aggregate rating, the review count and opening hours, attributed and dated wherever they appear.
- The CQC care directory — the Care Quality Commission's public register of locations in England, matched by postcode and phone, or postcode and a close name match. A practice with no confident match is unverified, not unregistered.
Corrections
If a criterion is wrong, tell us with the page that shows it. We reply within 7 days; a verified correction is applied under these same rules and recorded in the changelog.
Coverage and open data
The index currently covers Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne and Taunton. Each city's full data — every practice, every criterion, its status, points and source — is published as JSON: Birmingham (table), Bristol (table), Edinburgh (table), Glasgow (table), Liverpool (table), London (table), Manchester (table), Middlesbrough (table), Newcastle upon Tyne (table), Taunton (table).
Version
Methodology v0.1-pilot, last changed 22 October 2026. Every change to a rule, a weight or a source is listed in the changelog.