DENTISTS in Redditch and Bromsgrove have been warned to display their prices prominently and told action will be taken if they fail to do so.

Some dentists NHS nationwide have been accused of not displaying their prices prominently, breaching the obligations of their contact.

Sue Price, director of commissioning at NHS England (West Midlands) said: "We would expect all dentists in Worcestershire, who have an NHS contract, to display the current dental charges price list in a prominent place so patients are able to see it.

"This is a contractual obligation and if we became aware that this wasn't happening at a particular practice, action would be taken to resolve this.

“There are three standard charges for all NHS dental treatments, which are set nationally. Depending on what treatment a patient requires, they should only ever be asked to pay one charge for each complete course of treatment, even if they need to visit their dentist more than once to finish it.

"Dentists have a duty to be open and honest about payment and treatment options, always considering the best interests of their patients."

Nationally it has been revealed that consumers could be paying NHS dentists more than they need to because practices are not clear enough about their prices, according to a watchdog.

Existing rules state that dentists must have a price list prominently on display in their surgery and set out treatment costs upfront.

But Which? found that 51 per cent of people who visited a dentist in the last six months did not see a price list and one in five (22 per cent) were not clear about charges ahead of their treatment.

The watchdog has launched the Clean Up Dental Costs campaign and is calling on NHS England and regulators to ensure all dentists comply with existing rules and make information on prices clearly available.