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Guide · Opening a practice
How to open a dental practice in the UK.
Opening a squat practice is a sequencing problem more than a money problem. Most of the expensive mistakes come from doing the right things in the wrong order, or starting the slow things too late.
Opening a dental practice in the UK typically takes nine to eighteen months from decision to first patient, and runs in a fixed order: business plan and funding, then premises and lease, then design and equipment specification, then fit out, then regulatory registration, then marketing. The steps that most often cause delay are regulatory registration, which cannot begin until the premises are ready, and equipment lead times, which can run to several months and dictate the fit out programme. Marketing should start around six weeks before opening, not on opening day.
- Typical timeline
- 9 to 18 months
- Slowest steps
- Registration and equipment lead times
- Marketing starts
- About 6 weeks before opening
- Most common error
- Starting the slow things last
Stage one, the plan and the funding
A dental specialist accountant will build the forecast in the form healthcare lenders expect, which affects both approval and the rate you are offered. What matters most in the plan is working capital, meaning how long you can run at a loss after opening. Owners consistently underestimate this. Fixed costs start the day you take the keys, patients do not.
Stage two, premises
Before signing anything, establish whether the unit can physically take the number of surgeries you intend, where the decontamination room can sit, what the services will cost to bring in, and whether planning or change of use is needed. A site appraisal with a dental fit out specialist before the lease is signed is the cheapest money you will spend on the whole project.
Stage three, equipment
Equipment is chosen before the fit out is drawn, not after. Chairs, imaging and decontamination kit determine where water, drainage, power, suction and shielding go. Lead times can run to several months, so a late order pushes the whole programme. Ask for the current lead time in writing rather than the brochure figure.
Stage four, design and fit out
Design covers patient flow as much as appearance. The rooms that change how a practice performs are reception, where the money conversation happens, and the consultation room, which is the best return on a square metre in a private practice. Build in phases only matters on a refurbishment, not a squat.
Stage five, registration
You cannot treat patients until the practice is registered with the relevant regulator, and registration cannot start until the premises are substantially ready. In England that is the Care Quality Commission, with equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Allow considerably longer than you expect, and check the current published timescales rather than relying on what someone told you two years ago.
Stage six, marketing
Website live around six weeks before opening so it starts being found by Google, Google Business Profile created and verified early because verification takes time, and a registration campaign running in the final four to six weeks. Practices that leave this to opening week pay full costs through a quiet first quarter.
Where it usually goes wrong
The mistakes we see most often, in roughly the order they cost the most.
- Signing a lease before anyone has checked the unit can take the surgeries you want
- Ordering equipment after the drawings are done, so the drawings have to change
- Starting regulator registration late, which delays the opening date rather than the paperwork
- Publishing the website on opening day, when it ranks for nothing
- Creating the Google listing in opening week, when verification takes time
- Discounting heavily in month one to fill the diary, then being stuck with those prices
- Budgeting for the build but not for three quiet months afterwards
Questions and answers
Common questions.
How long does it take to open a dental practice in the UK?
Typically nine to eighteen months from decision to first patient. The variable parts are premises, planning consent and regulatory registration. Fit out itself is usually the more predictable stage.
How much does it cost to open a squat dental practice?
It varies enormously with the building, its condition and the number of surgeries, so any figure quoted before a site visit is a guess. Get a priced schedule from a dental fit out contractor, and budget separately for equipment and for working capital after opening.
When should marketing start for a new practice?
About six weeks before opening. The website needs time to be found by Google, a Google Business Profile takes time to verify, and a registration campaign in the final month is what fills opening week.
Do I need CQC registration before treating patients?
In England, yes, registration with the Care Quality Commission is required before providing regulated activities, with equivalent requirements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Check current published timescales, because they change.
Should a new practice be NHS or private?
If you can obtain an NHS contract the diary largely fills itself and marketing focuses on the private side. Fully private practices depend far more on the brand and the launch campaign. It is a business model decision that shapes everything else.
What is the most common mistake?
Sequencing. Equipment ordered after the drawings, registration started too late, marketing started on opening day. Each one costs weeks, and weeks in a squat practice are expensive because the costs have already started.
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