Advice for new patients

Here some of the most common, straight-forward things you might like to ask. If we haven’t covered your query here we’re on the end of the phone and are also happy to reply to emails as well info@laurajonesdental.com

The practice hours are:

Monday 9am to 7pm
Tuesday 9am to 5.30pm
Wednesday 9am to 5pm
Thursday 9am to 5pm
Friday 9am to 4pm.
This suits most people but evening appointments are always in high demand and we try to keep these slots for busy people who can’t make it any other time.

We have hygienist sessions all day Monday - last appointment 6pm - Tuesday morning, and all day Friday.

We are in the heart of Ballymena town centre, on Broughshane Street. You’ll find us on the first floor above ‘The Great Outdoors’ camping shop. For those unfamiliar with Ballymena, click on the following link. Map of how to find our practice. We are happy to give directions by phone or email - just tell us where you are coming from.

There is a ’pay and display’ car park nearby, behind Cameron’s department store, which is accessed from Broughshane Street. It is signed-posted as the Broughshane Street carpark and charges around 40p per hour.

We offer the whole range of general dentistry you would expect from a family practice: ongoing maintenance, restoring teeth, removing ‘unsaveable’ teeth, replacing missing teeth with bridges and dentures, caring for gums as well as teeth; a whole family service.

We also offer increasingly-popular cosmetic treatments including teeth whitening, veneers, crowns, minor tooth straightening and, with the Inman Aligner, tooth coloured fillings.

If you need a specialist (for the placement of implants, for example), we are happy to advise and arrange a consultation.

Our list of patients receiving NHS care is now closed. This means we can’t accept any new or former NHS patients, with the exception of children of registered patients. Alternatively, we have a range of membership plans, designed to offer the best care and value for everyone - see our membership plans While we recommend these plans - they help to manage payments and save money - we still offer a pay-as-you-go option.

We accept cash, credit and debit cards but, like many businesses, we can no longer accept cheques. We can help arrange interest free or low-cost finance for larger treatments. Mary Helen, our senior receptionist, or Samara, the practice manager, can answer any questions you might have.

We are often asked what treatment costs and we always give the same answer: We would rather see you face-to-face than just guess!

But we can promise some things: we won’t start treatment without discussing your needs, concerns, options and costs. We will keep you informed of any necessary changes to the plan we initially agreed.

So what does that initial consultation cost? For what we call routine care, a 20 minute appointment, is £40. For a longer consultation on cosmetic issues, the charge is £70. This appointment gives us enough time to listen to all your concerns and find out you really want. Often impressions and photographs are taken. Xrays are almost always taken for new patients and cost £15 for 2 films.

There has been a dental practice in our location since 1960. While the building itself is old, our facilities and clinical rooms are all very contemporary and are equipped with the best modern technology, both clinically and in our administration. We offer the most advanced techniques (such as digital xrays, which reduce exposure to medical radiation) and convenient communications (like our Ezine and appointment reminders by text message).

The one thing we cannot change is the fact that we are located on the first and second floor of our building and we have no disabled access. We wish that we had more accessible premises, but we accept where we are as a balance between access and a town centre location which suits so many of our patients including the many who come by public transport. If you have any recommendations for how we could improve our facilities for you please let us know.