Edinburgh Dental Specialists ★9.7

Referral only: the centre your own dentist sends you to

Nobody books a check-up here. Patients arrive on referral from their own dentist or doctor, the practice handles what general dentistry does not cover, then writes back and returns them to their usual surgery. It opened in 1994 as a single-handed private practice and became, by its own account, Scotland’s first multidisciplinary referral centre.

Disciplines under one roof

Prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, oral medicine and maxillofacial radiology sit in one building, and the clinicians meet weekly over cases. Some 400 prosthodontists are registered in the UK; four practise here. Work covers implants, dentures, crowns and bridgework, advanced tooth wear, gum disease, root canal treatment, apical surgery, wisdom teeth, TMJ problems and Invisalign. Zygomatic implants anchor in the cheekbone when the upper jaw has too little bone, instead of grafting or a sinus lift.

Laboratory and imaging

The implant laboratory is inside the practice and takes referral work only: five full-time technologists, Nobel Procera and 3Shape scanners, Giroform laser drilling, ceramic furnaces and a master ceramist who matches shade with the patient present, building everything from single crowns to milled-bar and guided-surgery bridges. Endodontics is done under the microscope; the radiology room housed one of the first dental-specific CT scanners in the UK.

The specialists

Pierluigi Coli is a registered specialist in both periodontics and prosthodontics. Chris Millen was a consultant in restorative dentistry at the Edinburgh Dental Institute. Martin Paley is a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon with NHS Lothian, working in head and neck reconstruction. Clinical lead Suzanne Lello specialises in oral surgery, Marialena Cresta teaches endodontics to Edinburgh postgraduates, Donald Thomson sits on the council of the European Academy of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, and Alexander Crighton is building a primary-care oral medicine service here.

Who it suits

Patients whose dentist has reached the limit of general practice: a failed root canal, a tooth that has to go, gum disease that keeps returning. People told elsewhere that implants would mean a bone graft. Anyone whose mouth problem is not a tooth problem.

Frequently asked questions

Can I refer myself? Referral comes through your own dentist or doctor; coordinators advise those who have neither.

Do I lose my own dentist? No. When treatment finishes you return to your usual practice, which receives a written account.

Is this an NHS practice? No, it is private.

I was told I need a bone graft before implants. Zygomatic implants are offered as an alternative to grafting and sinus lift.

Can my dentist get a quick opinion? Emailed photographs and radiographs are triaged to the right specialist, who answers within hours.

Opening hours