How to Get a Copy of Your Dental Records in the UK (2026 Guide)

Last updated: August 2026. Sources: the Information Commissioner's Office, NHS England, NHS England Digital, the NHS Business Services Authority, the General Dental Council and legislation.gov.uk. All access rules and retention periods verified on 10 August 2026.

TL;DR Your dental practice owns your records, but you have a legal right to a copy of the information in them under UK data protection law. Ask the practice that holds your notes for a subject access request, verbally or in writing. It is free in almost all cases, includes your X-rays, and must be answered within one month.

Most people never ask to see their dental records until they suddenly need to. You are switching to a new dentist and they want your history. You are unhappy about a treatment and thinking about a complaint. You are moving abroad, or a relative can no longer manage their own care and you are stepping in. In each case the same question comes up: are the records even yours to take, and how do you actually get hold of them?

The short answer is that you have a clear legal right to a copy, the request is usually free, and it is more straightforward than most people expect. This guide explains who owns your dental records, how to request a copy, how long it should take, what the file should contain (including your X-rays), and what to do when the practice has closed, the dentist has retired, or the patient has died.

Do you own your dental records?

You do not own the record itself, but you own the right to see and copy the information inside it. The dental practice is what data protection law calls the data controller. It is responsible for holding and protecting the record, and for an NHS practice the contracting NHS body sits behind that. You, the patient, hold a statutory right of access to your personal data.

The General Dental Council makes the distinction plainly. Its Standards for the Dental Team confirm that patients "can have access to their records" in line with data protection law, "despite not owning the records themselves", and that practitioners must arrange this promptly when asked [4].

The legal mechanism for that access is the right of access under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), together with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection, describes it this way: individuals "have the right to obtain a copy of their personal data", and this "is commonly referred to as a subject access request or 'SAR'" [1].

The starting point is always the organisation holding the notes. As NHS England puts it, "a request for information from medical records has to be made with the organisation that holds your records" [3]. For dental records, that is your dentist.

What is a subject access request?

A subject access request (SAR) is simply you asking an organisation for a copy of the personal data it holds about you. For dental records, it is the formal name for "please send me my notes". You do not need a solicitor, a special form, or any legal wording to make one.

The ICO is clear that a request does not have to use the phrase "subject access request" or even mention data protection at all. It just has to make clear that you are asking for your own information [1]. That means a plain email to your practice asking for a copy of your dental records is a valid SAR, whether or not anyone calls it that.

How to request a copy of your dental records: step by step

The process is the same whether your practice is NHS or private.

1. Identify who holds the records. For a practice you still attend, or one you have left that is still open, that is the practice itself. If it has closed, see the section below on tracing records.
2. Put the request in writing if you can. A SAR can be made verbally, but an email gives you a dated record of exactly what you asked for and when. Address it to the practice manager or the practice's data protection lead.
3. Say what you want. Ask for a copy of your full dental records, and be specific if you want particular items, for example your most recent X-rays or a named treatment episode. Asking for "everything" is fine too.
4. Confirm your identity. The practice may ask you to confirm details it already holds, such as your name, date of birth and address, before releasing anything. Existing patients known to the practice should not face an onerous check.
5. State your preferred format. You can ask for the records electronically or on paper. Most practices now hold digital records and can send secure electronic copies.
6. Keep a copy of your request. Note the date you sent it, because the response clock runs from when the practice receives it and has what it needs to identify you.

A good practice will acknowledge the request and tell you when to expect the records. If you want the notes because you are moving to a new dentist, you may not even need a SAR: many practices transfer relevant history directly when you register elsewhere, which our guide to switching dentists in the UK explains in more detail.

Is there a charge, and how long does it take?

In almost all cases your dental records are free. The ICO states that "in most circumstances, you cannot charge a fee to deal with a request" [2]. A practice can only charge a "reasonable" fee, based on administrative cost, where a request is clearly excessive or repetitive, or where you ask for further copies of information already provided. For a normal one-off request for your own notes, expect to pay nothing.

The response deadline is set in law. An organisation must respond "without undue delay, and within one month of receipt of the request" [2]. That month can be extended by up to two further months only where the request is genuinely complex, and the practice must tell you if it is taking the extension. As the ICO puts it, an organisation "may extend the time limit by up to a further two months where necessary, if the request is complex" or where it receives several requests from the same person [2].

One practical point affects when the clock starts. If the practice reasonably needs to confirm your identity first, the one-month period does not begin until you have supplied what it needs. Replying quickly to any identity check is the simplest way to avoid delay.

NHS or private: does it change how you ask?

No. The right of access under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 applies in exactly the same way to NHS and private dental practices, because both are data controllers under the same law [1]. The one-month deadline, the free-of-charge default and the identity rules are identical.

The only difference is practical. Whichever practice currently holds your record is the one to ask. National NHS bodies only become relevant as a fallback when a practice has closed and you cannot approach it directly, which the next section covers. There is no separate, faster "NHS route" running alongside the practice for patients of a surgery that is still open.

What if you have left the practice, or it has closed?

Your right of access does not depend on still being a registered patient.

• You have left, but the practice is still open. Contact that former practice directly. It still holds your record and must respond to your SAR like any other.
• The NHS practice has closed. When a practice shuts, responsibility for its records passes into the wider NHS. For a closed NHS dental practice in England, contact NHS England, or your local Integrated Care Board (ICB), which can point you to where the records were transferred. Ask them to help you trace the notes rather than assuming they are lost.
• The dentist has retired but the practice continues. Your records stay with the practice under its new or continuing ownership, so you request them from the practice as normal.
• A private practice has closed. There is no NHS safety net for purely private records. They may have been transferred to another practice or an appointed custodian. Your new dentist may know where a local practice's records went, and you can check the practice's status on the Care Quality Commission register in England if you are trying to trace it.

Because the exact route for a closed practice varies by nation and by whether the care was NHS or private, the safest approach is to contact your national NHS body (in England, NHS England or your ICB) and ask them to help you locate the records rather than relying on any single named service.

How long are dental records kept?

If you are wondering whether older records still exist, UK retention rules are generous. Under the NHS Records Management Code of Practice, dental clinical care records should be kept for a minimum of 11 years. NHS England Digital's retention schedule notes that this "changed from 15 years in May 2023 following legal advice" [7]. Children's dental records are kept for longer, up to the patient's "25th or 26th birthday" [7].

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) confirms the same headline figure, stating that NHS dental practices should keep clinical care records for a minimum of 11 years [8]. So for most adults, records from more than a decade ago may well still be retrievable, and for anyone whose treatment happened in childhood the window is wider still.

What is in your dental record, and are X-rays included?

A dental record is more than a page of handwritten notes. The GDC's standards describe records that include radiographs, consent forms, photographs, study models and referral letters, alongside the written treatment notes and charting [4]. A complete records request should therefore return:

• Clinical notes and charting for each visit
• X-rays and other radiographs
• Consent forms for treatment
• Clinical photographs and any study models, or records of them
• Referral and correspondence letters
• Laboratory prescriptions where crowns, dentures or appliances were made

X-rays are unambiguously part of your record and are included in a subject access request. The NHSBSA confirms that patients can request copies of their clinical records, including radiographs, from a dental practice [9]. If you are moving to a new dentist or seeking treatment elsewhere, asking for recent X-rays can save you being re-exposed to radiation unnecessarily.

Requesting records for a child or someone else

The right of access belongs to the person the data is about, so requesting someone else's records depends on age, capacity and consent.

For a child, it comes down to whether the child is old enough to understand and exercise their own rights. In Scotland, anyone aged 12 or over is legally presumed competent to make their own subject access request, so a parent generally cannot demand a competent child's records without the child's agreement [10]. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland there is no fixed age; competence is assessed individually ("Gillick competence"). Where a child is not competent to act for themselves, a person with parental responsibility can usually request the records on the child's behalf, unless doing so would be against the child's interests [10].

For another adult, a third party can request records with that person's clear authority and consent, for example a solicitor acting for a client, or a family member with written permission. The practice must be satisfied of both your identity and your authority to act before releasing anything, so bring evidence of that permission.

Requesting the records of someone who has died

The right of access under UK GDPR applies only to living people, so a different law governs the records of someone who has died: the Access to Health Records Act 1990. Under section 3 of that Act, the people who can apply are "the patient's personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the patient's death" [5].

In practice that means the executor or administrator of the estate, or someone with a specific legal claim connected to the death, rather than any relative informally. Where access is sought on the "person with a claim" basis, disclosure is limited to what is relevant to that claim, not the whole file [5]. NHS England Digital maintains detailed guidance on accessing the records of deceased people, updated in 2026 to reflect changes involving medical examiners [6]. Expect to provide proof of your entitlement, such as a grant of probate or letters of administration, along with identification.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Data protection is a UK-wide matter, so the core of this guide applies identically across all four nations. The subject access request, the free-of-charge default, the one-month deadline and the extension rules are the same in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, because they all flow from the same UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 [1][2].

The one confirmed legal difference is the age at which a child can make their own request: Scotland's statutory presumption of competence from age 12, against individually assessed competence elsewhere [10]. Beyond that, the NHS administrative structures differ by nation, so if a practice has closed, contact your national NHS body (NHS England or your ICB in England, and the equivalent NHS organisation in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) rather than assuming the English process applies everywhere.

What to do if a practice refuses or ignores you

Most requests are handled without a problem, but you have clear options if one is not.

1. Raise it with the practice first. Contact the practice manager or its data protection lead in writing, point out the one-month deadline, and ask for a response. Keep copies of everything.
2. Complain to the ICO. If the practice does not respond adequately, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, the regulator that enforces the right of access. The ICO expects you to try the organisation first, then complain to it if you are still dissatisfied. It can take up regulatory action where an organisation has failed to comply.
3. Raise a professional concern with the GDC. If your worry is about a dentist's record-keeping or conduct rather than a slow response, the General Dental Council handles professional-standards concerns about registered dental professionals. Our guide to checking a dentist is registered explains what the GDC does and does not cover.
4. Use the practice complaints procedure. For dissatisfaction with the service itself, the practice's own NHS or private complaints route runs in parallel, and our guide to complaining about a dentist in the UK walks through it.

Keep the two issues separate in your own mind: getting a copy of your data is a data protection matter for the practice and ultimately the ICO, while the quality of your care is a complaints matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to get a copy of my dental records?

Yes, in almost all cases. Under UK data protection law a subject access request is free, and the ICO states that in most circumstances an organisation cannot charge a fee. A practice may only charge a reasonable, administrative-cost fee if a request is clearly excessive or repetitive, or if you ask for additional copies of information already provided.

How long does a dental records request take?

An organisation must respond without undue delay and within one calendar month of receiving your request. That period can be extended by up to two further months only where the request is genuinely complex, and the practice must tell you if it takes the extension. The month starts once the practice has confirmed your identity, so respond promptly to any identity check.

Can I get copies of my dental X-rays?

Yes. X-rays and other radiographs are part of your dental record and are included in a subject access request. The NHS Business Services Authority confirms patients can request copies of their clinical records, including radiographs, from a dental practice. Asking for recent X-rays is useful when moving to a new dentist, as it can avoid unnecessary repeat imaging.

What if my dentist has retired or the practice has closed?

If the practice is still open under new ownership, request your records from it as normal. If an NHS practice has closed, contact NHS England or your local Integrated Care Board, which can help trace where the records were transferred. For a closed private practice, your new dentist or the Care Quality Commission register may help you locate where the records went.

Can I request my child's dental records?

It depends on the child's age and understanding. In Scotland a child aged 12 or over is presumed able to make their own request, so a parent generally needs the child's agreement. Elsewhere in the UK competence is assessed individually. Where a child cannot act for themselves, a person with parental responsibility can usually request the records on their behalf.

Can I get the dental records of someone who has died?

Yes, under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 rather than UK GDPR, which does not cover deceased people. The request must come from the deceased's personal representative, such as an executor or administrator, or from someone with a legal claim arising from the death. You will normally need to provide proof of entitlement, such as a grant of probate, and identification.

Do I have to give a reason for requesting my records?

No. You do not need to explain why you want your dental records. The right of access is yours regardless of your reason, whether you are switching dentist, considering a complaint, moving abroad or simply want a copy. A practice can ask you to confirm your identity, but it cannot require a justification before releasing your own data.

Getting your records, and finding your next dentist

Requesting your dental records is your right, it is usually free, and a plain written request to the practice that holds them is all it takes to start. Give the practice up to a month, respond quickly to any identity check, and ask specifically for your X-rays if you want them.

If the reason you need your records is that you are looking for a new practice, you can search for a dentist near you on Dentists Closeby and compare the practices covering your area. Our complete guide to finding a good dentist in the UK covers what to weigh up, registering with an NHS or private practice explains how to get onto a practice's books, and our guide to switching dentists walks through moving your care, and your history, across.

Sources

1. Right of access -- Information Commissioner's Office, accessed 2026-08-10
2. A guide to subject access requests -- Information Commissioner's Office, accessed 2026-08-10
3. How do I get a copy of my health (medical) records? -- NHS England, accessed 2026-08-10
4. Standards for the Dental Team, Principle 4: Maintain and protect patients' information -- General Dental Council, accessed 2026-08-10
5. Access to Health Records Act 1990, section 3 -- legislation.gov.uk, current version as amended, accessed 2026-08-10
6. Access to the health and care records of deceased people -- NHS England Digital, page last updated 11 May 2026, accessed 2026-08-10
7. Records Management Code of Practice, Appendix II: Retention schedule (care records) -- NHS England Digital, page last updated 20 May 2026, accessed 2026-08-10
8. How long should NHS dental practices keep patient records for? -- NHS Business Services Authority, accessed 2026-08-10
9. Can a patient request a copy of their clinical records including radiographs (x-ray films)? -- NHS Business Services Authority, accessed 2026-08-10
10. How do we recognise a subject access request (SAR)? -- Information Commissioner's Office, accessed 2026-08-10