Dentures Cost UK 2026: £500-£2,500 + What Drives It

Here's something nobody tells you about dentures until you're sitting in the chair: the price range is wild. Two quotes for what sounds like the same thing can sit £1,500 apart, and both can be perfectly fair.

The short version: on the NHS, dentures are a Band 3 treatment, £332.10 in England as the NHS listed it when we checked on 1 September 2026. Privately, expect £500 to £2,500 an arch depending on the type, and at UrgentCare Dental acrylic dentures are £699 per arch, full or partial, with chrome dentures from £999. By type, a full acrylic arch is commonly quoted at £500 to £1,200, an acrylic partial at £400 to £800, a chrome (cobalt-chrome) partial at £800 to £1,500, a flexible partial at £350 to £1,800 depending on its size, and an implant-retained set at around £4,000 to £8,000 a jaw. A set for both jaws is roughly double the single-arch figure, because it's two separate pieces of lab work.

The reason the range is so wide is that "dentures" covers everything from a plain acrylic plate to a hand-finished set a technician spends weeks on, so the number on a quote is really telling you what kind of denture you're being offered. Once you can read that, every price you're given makes sense, and you can choose the right one for your mouth instead of picking the cheapest and hoping.

Here's the whole shelf at a glance, so you can find your likely case in a couple of seconds:

The UK figures are typical private fees as commonly quoted. Our own prices are fixed, the same number at every clinic, and quoted in writing before anything begins.

What Decides the Price of Dentures

Five things move the number, and they're the same five at every practice in the country, so once you know them you can compare quotes properly instead of comparing headline figures.

The material makes the biggest difference. A standard acrylic denture is a pink plastic base with ready-made teeth set into it, and it's a good, comfortable denture that's easy to adjust and easy to mend, which is why it's the everyday choice. Chrome, properly cobalt-chrome, swaps most of the plastic for a slim cast-metal framework, so it's thinner, stronger, and sits more securely on the teeth you have left, and casting that framework is skilled lab work, which is why it costs more. Flexible dentures use a soft, gum-coloured nylon with no metal at all, lovely for a small gap near the front, though the nylon is harder to reline and repair later, and we've laid out that trade in our flexible dentures cost guide. At the top of the market, premium sets use individually chosen teeth with subtle variations in shade and translucency, and a base matched closely to the colour of your own gums. That's hours of a technician's time on one set, and the price follows.

Partial or full matters more than you'd guess, and it's often the opposite way round from what people expect. A full denture starts on a bare ridge with nothing to work around. A partial has to weave around the teeth you're keeping, match their colour, and share the chewing load without harming them, so a complex chrome partial replacing several scattered teeth can genuinely cost more than a full set. We've written the whole comparison up in our partial versus full dentures guide.

Immediate or conventional changes the number too. An immediate denture is made before your teeth come out, from impressions taken while they're still in place, and fitted the moment they're gone, so you never spend a day without teeth. Across the UK that convenience is commonly quoted at £300 to £500 more per arch, and because your gums change shape as they heal, an immediate denture needs more adjustment and a reline in the months that follow. A conventional denture is made after the gums have healed, usually eight to twelve weeks on, and fits more precisely first time because it's made to the final shape of your jaw. Our guide to immediate dentures after extraction walks through the whole year, honestly.

Extractions before the denture are priced separately, per tooth, at almost every practice, and they're the line people forget when they compare quotes. At UrgentCare Dental a simple extraction is £149, harder ones cost more, and you'll know which each tooth is, in writing, before anything is booked, because that's how every price with us works. If you'd like the full picture of what taking a tooth out costs, our tooth extraction cost guide has it.

Implant retention is a different category altogether. Two to four small titanium posts in the jaw give a denture something to clip onto, so it can't wobble, and that's what most people who hate a loose lower denture are really looking for. The implants are the cost, £1,999 each with us, and the denture sits on top. Our guide to implant-supported dentures cost breaks the snap-in and fixed versions down properly.

What's Included, and What Costs Extra

This is the bit to get in writing, because two quotes for the same denture can end up hundreds of pounds apart once the add-ons land.

A denture is made in stages, and each stage is an appointment. First impressions of your mouth, then a more precise second set, then a try-in where the teeth are set in wax so you can see the look and check the bite before anything is final, then the final fit. That try-in is the moment to ask for changes, because it's cheap to move a wax tooth and expensive to remake a finished one. Start to finish, a conventional denture usually takes around six to eight weeks, because the lab needs time between each stage. With us, those stages are the treatment: primary impressions, a precise secondary set, a try-in to check the fit and the look, and the final fit with the bite adjusted, all inside the £699 per arch.

Then come the adjustments. Every new denture has a spot or two that presses harder than it should once the first few days are behind you, and easing those is a five-minute job. Some practices charge for each of those visits. With us, review visits while you settle in are free, the same way follow-ups after any treatment with us are free.

Relines are the next thing to ask about. The ridge under a denture slowly changes shape over the years, so the fit loosens, and a reline rebuilds the fitting surface against the gum as it is now. Across the UK a reline is commonly £150 to £300 per arch, and some practices include the first one while most don't, so it's worth asking. If your denture has already started to slip, our guide on what to do about loose dentures tells you which fixes actually work.

Repairs happen, usually on a bathroom floor. A simple mend, like a tooth reattached or a small crack fixed, is commonly £80 to £150, and a denture snapped clean in half runs more. We've put the numbers in our broken denture repair costs guide.

And then the cosmetic extras. Precision attachments that hide a partial's clasps commonly add £400 to £800, and characterisation, where the technician adds deliberate little irregularities so the teeth look like they grew there, typically adds £200 to £400 an arch. Perfect teeth look fake. Slightly imperfect teeth look real.

NHS Dentures vs Private: The Honest Difference

On the NHS in England, false teeth sit in Band 3, the top band, at £332.10 as the NHS listed it on its dental costs page when we checked on 1 September 2026. That one charge covers the whole course of treatment, and the NHS describes what it buys as dentures "made from plastic or metal". Small adjustments to a denture fall under Band 1 at £27.90, adding a tooth or a clasp or relining falls under Band 2 at £76.60, and a repair is free. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own charges, so those figures are England's.

On price alone the NHS wins, and we won't pretend otherwise. The honest differences are three. The first is choice: the NHS provides a denture in plastic or metal that does the job, and does it well, while privately you choose the type, from a slim chrome framework to a flexible partial to hand-characterised teeth. The second is time in the chair: privately you're paying for the lab time and the number of try-ins the dentist wants before the denture is signed off, and that time is what fit and comfort are made of. The third, for most people, is the real one: finding an NHS practice that will take you on. For a great many people the choice is private now or waiting, and we've set out the whole picture in our NHS versus private dentist costs guide.

Upper, Lower, or Both

A full set of false teeth means two dentures, an upper and a lower, and each is its own piece of lab work, which is why a set for both jaws is roughly double the price of one arch.

The two behave differently once they're in. The upper has the roof of your mouth to hold onto, a broad flat surface that gives it a gentle suction, a bit like a suction hook on a bathroom tile. The lower has to balance on a thin horseshoe of gum with your tongue in the middle and your cheeks pressing in from the sides, so it's the one that floats about. That's why the common pattern is a conventional upper and, for people who want it, a lower clipped onto two implants: you buy the stability exactly where it was missing, and nowhere you didn't need it.

If you're replacing a single tooth rather than a jawful, you're probably on the wrong page, in the nicest way. A flipper tooth is the small, quick, inexpensive version, and if the tooth has only just come out, our guide on what to do if you lose a tooth is the one to read first.

Where You Live Changes the Quote

London quotes for the same denture tend to run higher than the rest of the country, and that's rent and wages, because the lab making the denture is often the same one whichever city the practice sits in. Where your dentist is matters less than which technician they use.

It's worth knowing before you travel to chase a cheaper quote, because a denture is four or five appointments, and a two-hour drive each way soon eats the saving. Our prices are the same fixed figures at all three of our clinics, so a denture costs the same in Leeds, Manchester, and our Bradford practice in Bingley. If you're comparing locally around Manchester in particular, our dentures cost Manchester guide walks through what the city's practices typically charge.

When Dentures Are the Right Call

Dentures are usually the least expensive way to replace a whole arch of teeth, and for a lot of people they're the right answer for years. They come out to clean, which keeps them simple to look after, and they can be made and fitted in weeks rather than the months an implant case takes.

The trade is what happens underneath. A denture rests on the gum, and bone that no longer has tooth roots working it slowly shrinks back, which is why dentures loosen over the years and eventually need remaking. Implants pass the force of every bite into the bone and keep it, which is the case for them, and it's why younger patients often use dentures as the first step while they save. We've laid the ten-year sums side by side in our dentures versus implants cost comparison, and if you're still weighing every route, our missing tooth replacement options guide starts from the beginning.

Looking After Them, and What It Costs

Day to day, a denture needs a soak and a brush with a denture cleaner rather than toothpaste, because toothpaste is abrasive enough to scratch acrylic and scratches hold stains. Budget around £10 a month for cleaning supplies, and £8 to £15 a month for fixative if you use it. Plenty of people with a well-fitting denture never need adhesive at all, and if a dentist reaches for the adhesive tube before looking at the fit, that tells you something.

When a denture yellows, ordinary whitening does nothing for it, because the peroxide is made for enamel and the acrylic ignores it. The methods that do work cost pennies, and our post on whether you can whiten dentures lists them.

Most people have a denture remade after several years, five to seven is the figure commonly quoted, because the ridge underneath keeps changing shape and a reline can only do so much. Knowing that from the start makes the long-term cost simple to plan for instead of a surprise.

Common Questions About Denture Costs

How much are false teeth?

False teeth and dentures are the same thing, and in England the NHS makes them for the Band 3 charge, £332.10 as the NHS listed it when we checked on 1 September 2026. Privately, a full set of false teeth for one jaw is commonly quoted at £500 to £1,200 in standard acrylic, rising to £2,500 for a premium hand-finished set, with partials from around £400. At UrgentCare Dental our acrylic dentures are £699 per arch, full or partial, and a chrome denture starts from £999.

How much do dentures cost privately in the UK?

Privately, dentures usually run from £500 to £2,500 per arch. A standard acrylic set sits at the lower end, a chrome or flexible partial in the middle, and a premium, individually crafted set at the top, because each step up means more skilled lab work and better quality teeth. At UrgentCare Dental a full acrylic arch is £699, which lands in that comfortable middle of proper quality without the cosmetic-clinic markup.

How much are full dentures in the UK?

A full denture means one complete arch, either your whole upper or your whole lower, and that typically costs £500 to £1,200 for a standard set, climbing toward £2,500 for a premium one. If you need both arches done, you're looking at roughly double, since it's two separate pieces of lab work. Our full arch is £699, and a complete upper-and-lower set is priced from there.

How much do dentures cost on the NHS?

Dentures are a Band 3 treatment on the NHS in England, £332.10 as the NHS listed it when we checked on 1 September 2026, and that single charge covers the whole course of treatment, examination included. Minor adjustments come under Band 1 at £27.90, a reline or an added tooth under Band 2 at £76.60, and repairs are free. The catch for most people is getting in, because an NHS practice taking on new patients is hard to find, which is why so many people end up comparing private prices against waiting.

Can you get dentures on finance?

Yes. Any treatment over £500 can be spread over 12 months at 0% interest with us, acceptance subject to status, so a £699 arch or a bigger case doesn't have to land all at once. A longer plan is available on any amount too, and the details, with the representative example, are on our pricing page. Either way it's the same set of teeth; you're just choosing when the money leaves your account.

How do I get an exact quote for my dentures?

The honest answer is that a firm number needs a proper look, because the price rides on how many teeth you're replacing, the material, and whether any teeth need to come out first. Our £20 assessment includes digital X-rays, and you leave knowing which type suits you and the exact price in writing before anything is booked, with no add-ons stacked on afterwards.

Dentures at UrgentCare Dental in Leeds, Manchester and Bradford

Come to whichever of our three clinics is nearest: Leeds, at the Whitehall Estate in Armley, Manchester, or our Bradford practice on Main Street in Bingley. The price is the same fixed figure at each: acrylic dentures £699 per arch, chrome from £999, implants £1,999 each if you'd like yours anchored, and a £20 assessment with digital X-rays to start, with everything quoted in writing before you decide a thing.

The cheapest quote is rarely the best value, and the dearest one isn't automatically the best fit. A denture that needs constant adjusting and an early remake costs more over five years than one made carefully first time, and a set you can't bear to wear costs the most of all, because it ends up in a drawer. Get what's included in writing, ask which type you're being quoted for, and if you'd like an honest look and a fixed number, we're open every hour of every day, so come in whenever suits you.