How we chose
We started from the nineteen orthodontic practices listed across Telford, matched each at Companies House and read its own website for treatments, areas and terms. Professional registration was sourced from the care regulator's register, each practice's own website and the professional register's search page [2] [1]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and the registration the law requires is in place. Ten practices met all three. We looked first at what customers say, then qualifications, then trading history, cover, pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence in this round is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the person to the job first. A general dentist owns check-ups, fillings and referrals, while an orthodontist is a dentist with extra specialist training in straightening teeth and fixing bites. Some routine brace work is done by orthodontic therapists working to an orthodontist's prescription. If the patient is a child, your dentist refers you to an orthodontist after the adult teeth arrive; as an adult you can approach a practice directly for private care [3]. Say who the patient is and what bothers you when you first enquire.
Know where the NHS route runs out. Braces are usually only free on the NHS for people under eighteen with a teeth problem, and the orthodontist decides eligibility at an assessment that can include X-rays, photographs or scans [3]. There may be a long waiting list to be seen. If you are eighteen or over you will usually pay privately, so ask your dentist for the referral and the likely wait side by side with a private assessment, and compare the two before you commit.
Check both registers before you book. Search the General Dental Council online register by name, town or registration number and confirm the entry yourself rather than taking surgery stationery at face value; the register also carries Specialist Lists including orthodontics, plus orthodontic therapists [1]. Then check the practice itself on the Care Quality Commission register, which every practice in this table holds [2]. The British Orthodontic Society site lists private orthodontists if you want a second name on your shortlist [3] [4].
Place the logistics beside the dentistry. The ranked practices sit on town-centre streets from Shifnal and Wellington to Madeley, Dawley, Broseley and Oakengates, so allow for town-centre parking on every visit: the council map lists twenty-four council car parks with no charge across the borough [9]. Fixed braces mean a visit every six to eight weeks for a year or more [3], so a practice near school, work or a bus route you already use will matter more than it first seems. If evenings or Saturdays decide it for you, check opening hours before you fall for the dentistry.
Get a written treatment plan that names the appliance, the full fee, the expected length of treatment, how often you will be seen and whether retainers are included, then compare two or three plans on the same written scope so you compare like with like [7]. Each plan should say what happens if treatment overruns, who supervises the case and what the reviews cover. Treat an outlier, far above or below the rest, as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or left out.
Plan for the middle of treatment, not just the fitting. Fixed braces usually stay in place for one to two years with an adjustment visit every six to eight weeks, and teeth feel strange or sore for a few days after fitting or tightening [3]. Keep brushing with fluoride toothpaste after meals, clean under the wires daily and keep your routine check-ups going while you wear braces. Ask who to contact if a bracket breaks and how quickly the practice sees repair cases.
Keep the paperwork after the braces come off. File the treatment plan, consent forms, itemised invoices and retainer instructions with your household records, and wear the retainer exactly as directed so the teeth do not drift back [3]. If something goes wrong, complain to the practice first and give it a chance to put things right. NHS care carries an NHS complaints route, while private treatment carries the General Dental Council route for professionals and its complaints service for the treatment itself [8].
Read the quote like a contract, because that is what it becomes. It should name the exact appliance and which teeth it covers, the full fee with reviews, scans and retainers either inside it or priced beside it, the expected length, what an overrun costs, who supervises the case and the payment stages with receipts [7]. Check how VAT reads on the page: treatment from registered professionals sits outside VAT, so only add-ons such as brushes and paste should ever show it [6]. Keep the signed plan, consent forms, invoices and retainer instructions together for the whole retention period, since that file decides who pays if a retainer cracks or teeth drift.
A typical private job runs in this order. You enquire by phone or online booking, saying who the patient is and what bothers you about the teeth. The practice books an assessment with X-rays, photographs or scans, and the orthodontist confirms whether braces or aligners suit the bite [3]. You receive the written plan, sign the consent forms, pay the agreed deposit and the fitting is booked. Reviews follow every six to eight weeks with cleaning and check-ups continuing throughout [3], then the braces come off, retainers go on, and you leave with wearing instructions and the next review date.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough UK ranges run like this: NHS braces are free for eligible under-eighteens [3]; private metal fixed braces £1,500–£3,000, ceramic tooth-coloured braces £2,000–£4,000, and self-ligating systems £2,500–£4,500 [5]. Full Invisalign treatment sits around £3,000–£4,500, with lighter aligner cases less, while hidden lingual braces run from around £4,500 past £10,000 [5]. Telford usually sits below London prices for the same appliance [5].
Case complexity moves the price most: crowded or awkward bites need longer treatment and more visits than mild spacing, and treating both arches costs more than one [5]. What is bundled matters just as much, since some fees include every review and the retainers while others charge separately, with retainers around £100–£300 per arch if they are not included [5]. Monthly plans and finance options spread the bill but rarely shrink it, so compare the total treatment cost rather than the monthly figure.
Ask whether the quoted fee is the whole fee. Dental care and treatment from registered professionals is exempt from VAT whether you go NHS or private, so the price you are quoted should be the price you pay; only separable extras such as brushes and paste carry standard VAT [6]. If a quote looks unusually low, check whether scans, reviews, emergency visits and retainers sit inside it or will be added later.
Get the scope in writing before treatment starts: exactly which appliance, which teeth, the full fee, how many reviews, whether retainers are included, what changes the price if the case proves harder than expected, and payment stages with receipts [7]. Agree a deposit you are comfortable with and keep every plan, invoice and consent form together, since you will need them if you move practice or query the bill [7].
Inside the fixed-brace band, two things move you. Treating one arch instead of two drops the fee, with upper-only metal work listed around a thousand to eighteen hundred pounds against fifteen hundred to three thousand for both arches [5]. Heavier crowding and awkward bites then push the same appliance up the band, and choosing ceramic brackets or a self-ligating system steps the starting point higher for looks and mechanism [5].
Inside the aligner band, the brand and the bite share the decision. Full Invisalign sits around three thousand to forty-five hundred pounds while other aligner brands run eighteen hundred to four thousand, and complex movements with longer wear sit at the top of either band [5]. Lighter courses for mild spacing land lower, so the scan matters more than the brand name when you compare two quotes.
Red flags
Recommends a brace type and a fee without examining the teeth or taking scans, X-rays or photographs [3].
Names no dentists and gives no registration numbers you can check on the professional register [1].
Does not appear on the care regulator's register at its practice address [2].
Offers NHS braces without any assessment of clinical need [3].
Quotes one fixed fee with no written plan saying which appliance, how many reviews and whether retainers are included.
Asks for full payment in cash before treatment starts, with no written terms [7].
Says nothing about retainers or review appointments after the braces come off [3].
Presses for a deposit before showing a written plan with the full fee on it [7].
Cannot name who supervises the case or who to contact when a bracket breaks.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.