Nervous patients & sedation in Rugby · the honest guide
Haven't been to the dentist in years? Here is exactly what happens next
Written by Dr Savan Zala, implant and sedation dentist at Rugby Smiles (BDS, MFGDP RCSEng, MSc Implants) · Reviewed September 2026
The short answer: you will not be told off, nothing will be done to you on the first visit without your say-so, and whatever we find will be less dramatic than you have been imagining. A new patient check-up is £45, and if even booking that feels like too much, you can start with a two-minute questionnaire or a chat with someone who is not a dentist.
Every week someone sits in front of me and starts with an apology. Five years, ten years, twenty. They have been rehearsing this appointment for months and dreading the moment we look inside. So let me walk you through the real version, step by step, because the imagined version is always worse.
Not ready to speak to anyone yet? Tell us what worries you first, it takes two minutes and Georgia reads every one.
First, the thing you are most worried about
You are expecting judgement. You will not get it. We see people who have stayed away for decades every single week; it is one of the most ordinary things in general dentistry and one of the most rewarding. Nobody here is interested in why you stayed away, only in where your teeth go from here. Half our new patients apologise in the first minute. None of them need to.
If the state of your teeth is the thing that embarrasses you, know that we have seen everything, and that the mouths that frighten their owners the most are usually the ones that respond best to being looked after. You can read what we do for nervous patients page in more detail, but the principle is simple: no lecture, ever.
Three ways to start, and you choose
Tell us first, without speaking to anyone
Our two-minute nervous patient questionnaire lets you say what worries you and what would help, on your phone, tonight. Georgia reads it before you arrive and we plan your visit around it, so you never have to explain yourself in the chair.
A chat with Georgia, no chair, no dentist
Georgia is our treatment co-ordinator. You can book a sit-down conversation with her in a normal room, ask anything, and leave without seeing a surgery. Plenty of people start here.
A new patient check-up, £45
When you are ready, a full check-up with one of our dentists. It is an assessment and a conversation, not a treatment session. You set the pace and you can stop at any point.
What happens at the check-up
We talk first. What is bothering you, whether anything hurts, what you would like to be able to do again: eat comfortably, stop worrying, smile in photos. Then, when you are ready, a look at your teeth and gums, and usually a couple of x-rays so we can see what is going on beneath the surface. Tell us if you would like everything explained as we go, or nothing said until the end; both are fine.
Then you sit up and we go through what we found, in plain English, with your options and written prices for each. Nothing else happens on day one unless you are in pain and want it dealt with. You go home with a plan and the time to think about it.
What we usually find after a long gap
- Tartar and staining, sometimes a lot of it, which a hygienist removes in one or two visits
- Gum inflammation from that build-up, which improves quickly once the teeth are clean
- Some decay, often in teeth that do not hurt yet, which is why it is better found now
- Occasionally a tooth that cannot be saved, and we will talk honestly about what replaces it
- Very often, less than you feared
Pain changes the order. If something hurts, we deal with that first: we hold emergency slots every day, and ringing before 10am gives you the best chance of being seen the same day. Our emergency dentist page explains how that works.
What it is likely to cost
The check-up is £45 including x-rays. A hygienist visit is £92. Beyond that, every item on your plan has a published price, from fillings to extractions, and you see the whole figure before agreeing to anything. If a lot needs doing, we stage it in an order that gets you out of trouble first and spreads the cost, with 0% finance available on larger plans. Our Dental Plan from £22 a month includes your check-ups and gives 10% off treatment, which suits people rebuilding a routine.
If the fear is bigger than a gentle approach can handle
For some people, no amount of kindness makes the chair bearable, and that is what IV sedation is for. You have the treatment, you are deeply relaxed throughout, and you remember almost nothing. It costs £500 a session on top of the treatment and it means years of work can happen in one calm morning. We will suggest it if we think it will help, and never push it if we think you will manage without.
“The bravest thing most of my patients ever do is the phone call. Everything after that is our job.”
Dr Savan Zala, sedation dentist at Rugby Smiles
Questions people ask
Will the dentist lecture me for staying away?
No. It is not our job and it is not our style. We are interested in what happens next, not what happened before.
Will I have treatment on the first visit?
Not unless you are in pain and want it dealt with. The first visit is an assessment and a conversation, and you leave with a written plan and prices.
How long does a first check-up take?
We book an unhurried appointment for people who tell us they are nervous, so there is no rushing. Most take around thirty to forty minutes including the conversation.
Can I bring someone with me?
Yes, into the room if you like. A familiar face changes the whole feel of an appointment.
What if I need a lot of work?
We stage it, with the urgent things first and the rest in an order that suits your budget and your nerves. Nobody expects you to do it all at once.
Can I be sedated for the check-up?
We need to meet you and check your medical history before any sedation, so the first visit is done awake, gently. Sedation is then available for the treatment itself.
However long it has been, we have seen longer. Honestly.
The free consultation is a conversation, not a treatment: your medical history, what you need done, whether sedation is right for you, and a written price before anything is booked. Or start with a free, no-chair chat with Georgia, our treatment co-ordinator.
Read next: how we look after nervous patients · what sedation feels like · the £45 new patient check-up · IV sedation in Rugby · Rugby Smiles Dental Clinic · 3 Newbold Road, Rugby CV21 2LQ · 01788 579 577