This brochure of a Mr Bradlaw, dental surgeon, shows that it cost 5s for a filling, that he offered 'extraction by cocaine' and that reduced fees were available to 'servants and persons of limited means'.

Insurance, or a contract with the doctor or dentist, could be taken out to cover charges. Advocates of this practice have argued that it provided affordable health care, as competition kept doctors' fees down and increased consumer choice. Critics, however, have counter-argued that an insistence on cheap medicine and on keeping fees as low as possible meant poor-quality health care and that the poorest, and women and children in particular, were disadvantaged.