YOUR FIRST APPOINTMENTYour first appointment
New patients from Splott typically start with a full examination and an honest conversation about priorities — what needs doing now, what can wait, and what it will cost, all discussed before anything is booked in. We build more time into a first visit than a typical NHS slot allows, which matters for patients who haven't had a proper dental check-up in some years.
If it's been a long gap since your last visit, you're far from alone — a significant number of the Splott patients we see tell us they simply gave up trying to find an NHS dentist taking on new adults locally, and let things slide as a result. There's no judgement in that conversation; we'll just start from an honest picture of where things stand.
Because the practice is inside a busy shopping centre, allow a few extra minutes on your first visit to find the lift up to the first floor of Boots, particularly if you're coming in on a Saturday.
LOCAL TO YOUA dentist that understands Splott's community
Splott's identity is tied closely to its industrial past — the steelworks that once employed a huge share of the local population, the terraced streets built to house those workers, and a community spirit that's held on even as the industry itself has changed shape. That history shows up in our patient list in small but real ways: a lot of older patients mention decades of irregular dental care that came second to shift work, and a lot of younger patients are the grandchildren of those same families, now settled in Splott or Tremorfa themselves.
Splott Park remains one of the area's real assets, and quite a few patients tell us they've combined a dental appointment in town with a walk through the park or along Portmanmoor Road on the way back. It's a small thing, but it reflects how naturally a trip into St David's fits around an ordinary day for most of the neighbourhood.
The Ocean Way industrial estates bring a slightly different group of patients too — people working shifts locally who value being able to book an early morning or evening appointment that doesn't clash with work, rather than losing a shift to see a dentist.
GOING PRIVATECatching up after years of limited NHS access
Splott has felt the effects of NHS dental shortages in Cardiff as much as anywhere in the city — practices with closed lists, long waits for a routine check-up, and a general sense among residents that finding an NHS dentist locally simply isn't realistic anymore. We hear this from Splott callers regularly, often as the reason they're calling a private practice for the first time in their lives.
Luna Dental isn't bound by NHS list caps, so there's no waiting list to join and appointments are typically available within a week or two. We'll always explain cost before agreeing to any treatment, so there's no surprise once you're in the chair.
IMPLANTS AND DENTURESOlder residents and restorative dentistry
A fair share of our Splott patients are older residents who worked locally for much of their lives and are only now getting round to more significant dental work — implants to replace long-missing teeth, dentures that need reviewing or replacing, crowns on teeth that have been patched up repeatedly over the years.
We take these conversations slowly, talking through realistic options and costs rather than pushing straight to the most involved treatment available. For a lot of patients, simply having someone explain the choices clearly is the part that's been missing from previous dental experiences.
EVENING AND WEEKEND SLOTSShift workers and flexible appointment times
With Ocean Way's industrial estates and other local employers running shift patterns, a straightforward 9-to-5 dental appointment simply doesn't work for a lot of Splott and Tremorfa households. We run evening appointments through the week and open on Saturdays specifically to make room for exactly that kind of schedule.
URGENT CAREEmergency appointments from Splott
A broken tooth or sudden abscess doesn't wait for a convenient time, and we know that a nine-minute drive can feel much longer when you're in genuine pain. Call as early in the day as possible and we'll do everything we can to fit you in, treating pain and swelling as a real priority rather than an inconvenience to squeeze in later.
TRANSPARENT PRICINGCost and payment options
As a private practice, we quote before we treat — a Splott patient coming in for a check-up will always know what a filling, crown or course of whitening costs before agreeing to go ahead. For bigger pieces of work like implants or dentures, we can talk through finance options so cost isn't the reason treatment gets put off any longer.
