This suggests that private fee increases have not fully kept pace with wider inflation. Rather than indicating excessive price growth, recent fee movements are more consistent with a market where practices are seeking to recover costs while remaining sensitive to patient affordability and competition.

Input costs and margin pressures

Rising input costs continue to affect private dentistry, particularly in treatments involving laboratory-made appliances, advanced materials, or longer clinical time.

Laboratory costs have increased for both NHS and private treatment. Between 2023 and 2025, average laboratory costs rose by around 12% in nominal terms, equivalent to approximately 5% in real terms after adjusting for inflation.

Private laboratory costs remain materially higher than NHS laboratory costs, reflecting differences in materials, technology, specification, and treatment complexity. However, the private-to-NHS laboratory cost ratio remained broadly stable, at 2.37x in 2023 and 2.35x in 2025.

This stability suggests that cost pressures are occurring across the system rather than being driven by private dentistry alone. It also reinforces the point that private dentistry is operating within a wider cost environment shaped by staffing, materials, laboratory provision and patient expectations.

Patient sensitivity and affordability

Private dentistry operates in a competitive and price-sensitive environment. Patients are sensitive to dental costs, and practices must balance the need to recover costs with the importance of maintaining trust, affordability and long-term patient relationships.

YouGov polling referenced in our analysis found that patients are sensitive to price when deciding whether to receive treatment and what treatment to choose. This places an important constraint on pricing, as practices cannot simply pass on rising costs without risking patient dissatisfaction or reduced treatment uptake.

This is important context for interpreting private fee trends. Although private fees have risen in cash terms, the evidence suggests that practices have absorbed a share of rising input costs rather than passing them on fully to patients.

Relationship with NHS dentistry

Private dentistry increasingly supplements NHS dentistry by supporting mixed-practice sustainability. In practice, private income can help practices continue to invest in the workforce, premises, technology, and equipment needed to deliver both NHS and private care.

This does not mean private dentistry replaces NHS dentistry. Rather, in many mixed practices, private provision helps support the wider business model that allows NHS care to continue being delivered. This is particularly important where NHS activity is underfunded or where treatment costs exceed contractual income.

The relationship between NHS and private dentistry is therefore increasingly interconnected.

Private provision supports:

Patient choice and access to a broader range of treatments
Investment in digital dentistry and advanced clinical technology
Financial resilience within mixed-practice models
Continuity of care and flexibility in treatment options.

This is consistent with wider market trends showing a rebalancing in income mix. The share of practice income derived from private dentistry increased by 6.4 percentage points between 2019-20 and 2023-4, from 57.3% to 63.7%, while the NHS income share fell from 42.7% to 36.3%

This points to an evolving mixed-practice model, with private provision becoming increasingly important to the overall economics of dental practice, particularly within mixed delivery models.

Treatment markets and growth areas

Private dentistry also supports growth in areas where patient demand is increasingly diverse. This includes cosmetic treatments, orthodontics, implantology, whitening, and advanced restorative work.

These areas reflect both changing patient expectations and the ability of private dentistry to offer treatment options beyond the scope of routine NHS provision. They also support investment in clinical skills, technology, and equipment which can benefit the wider practice environment.

At the same time, demand for private treatment is not solely cosmetic. Many patients access private dentistry because they value continuity, shorter waiting times, treatment choice or to access care where NHS provision is limited.

Outlook for the private dental market

The private dental market is expected to remain an important part of the wider UK dental landscape. Fee growth should be understood in the context of rising costs, patient sensitivity to price, and the need for practices to maintain investment in high-quality care.

The evidence points to a market that is adapting rather than experiencing excessive price growth. Private dentistry is helping practices remain financially resilient, invest in their teams and infrastructure, and continue offering a wider range of care to patients.

Taken together, the dental market appears to be transitioning to a more balanced and resilient model, with stabilising cost pressures, strengthening investment activity, and a gradual rebalancing between NHS and private provision.

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