Independent · Open data · Free for patients

Finding a dentist
shouldn't be this hard

When the NHS shut down its dentist review service in 2024, millions of patients lost their only reliable way to find practices accepting new patients. DentistFinder was built to fix that — an independent, unbiased directory powered entirely by open data.

NHS & CQC open data No paid rankings No tracking
12.4k
Practices indexed
500k+
Monthly searches
12M
Adults can't find a dentist
£0
Cost to patients, always
Our Origin Story

Born from a broken system

1
The NHS service shut down

In 2024, the NHS decommissioned its "Find a Dentist" review and search service, removing the only official way for patients to search for dental practices.

2
Existing alternatives were broken

Other directories were riddled with paid placements, outdated data, and no way to tell if a practice was actually accepting patients. The system could be gamed.

3
DentistFinder was built

An independent directory built on open data that can't be gamed. Every practice is treated equally, regardless of whether they pay to be listed.

What DentistFinder does

A free, independent tool that helps patients find dental care and helps practices reach new patients.

Search by Postcode

Find practices near you with distance, contact details, and real-time acceptance status.

Acceptance Status

See whether practices are accepting new NHS adults, children, or private patients.

Community Verification

Real patients help verify acceptance data through voting when official data is slow.

Patient Reviews

Read and write moderated reviews to help others choose the right practice.

What We Stand For

Built on principles,
not profit

Every decision we make starts with one question: does this help patients find the right dentist? If it doesn't, we don't build it.

Free for patients

We don't charge for searches, listings, or reviews. Ever. No paywall, no premium tier for patients.

Open data first

Our data comes from official NHS and CQC sources under open licences. We explain exactly where.

No paid rankings

Search results are ordered by distance, not money. No practice can pay to appear higher than another.

Privacy-respecting

No analytics trackers, no advertising cookies, no selling your data. We collect the bare minimum.

The team behind DentistFinder

A small team with deep experience in healthcare data, clinical dentistry, and building products people actually need.

JH
James Holloway

Founder

After spending six months trying to register with an NHS dentist in South London, James realised the system was broken. Existing directories were full of paid placements and outdated data with no way to tell which listings were genuine. He built DentistFinder to create something different — a directory built on open data that can't be gamed.

With a background in public health informatics and a decade building data platforms for NHS trusts, James understands both the data landscape and the real frustrations patients face.

LinkedIn
SP
Dr Sarah Patel

Clinical Advisor

Sarah is a practising NHS dentist and British Dental Association member with over 15 years of clinical experience. She advises DentistFinder on data accuracy, review moderation standards, and ensuring the platform genuinely serves patient needs.

Her frontline perspective helps us understand the challenges practices face too — not just patients.

LinkedIn
MK
Marcus Kimathi

Data & Engineering Lead

Marcus built the data pipeline that keeps DentistFinder accurate. With a background in geospatial engineering and open data advocacy, he's spent years working with public sector datasets across healthcare and local government.

He's responsible for the import systems that pull from ODS, CQC, and NHS acceptance feeds — and for making sure the community verification layer doesn't get abused.

LinkedIn
NHS ODS & CQC
Open data sources
Updated
Daily
UK GDPR
Compliant
Paid rankings
Never
Ad trackers
None

Questions or feedback?

Whether you're a patient looking for help, a practice wanting to update your listing, or a journalist writing about NHS dental access — we'd love to hear from you.