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There's a lot involved in delivering the business of dentistry, whether you're in NHS, mixed or private practice. In this section you will find the expert advice and support you need to make your business a success.

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BDA member exclusive

Webinar: Understand the UDA contract

Join us on 17 March as we summarise the changes to the UDA contract in England and discuss the impacts for practice owners. Our speakers will take your questions and help you understand how to manage the new contract.
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UDA contract changes: Information for practice owners

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Advice

Private practice

Establishing yourself as a private dental practice

Establishing a private dental practice involves key considerations. We set out the foundations that help set you up for success.

Advice

Private practice

Transitioning to private practice in England and Wales

What to do and when, if you're considering moving to private practice

Advice

Associateships

Associate agreements: What practices should consider

There are considerations practice owners need to make before drafting an associate agreement. We outline the common factors that can impact on the working relationship between a practice and associates.

Advice

Business management

Dentists' legal rights as commercial purchasers

Learn more about the contracts dental practices make with other businesses, suppliers, and tradespeople, including advice on contract law and rights as a commercial buyer.

Advice

Business finances

Tax

A basic overview of your various possible tax obligations in the dental practice, including guidance around the government’s 2026 Making Tax Digital initiative.

Advice

NHS contracts and tendering

Urgent Dental Care Incentive Scheme payments

Guidance on a practical way for practices and associates to approach the Urgent Dental Care Incentive Scheme, suggesting a fair method for distributing any additional income earned through urgent care activity.

Advice

Managing and informing patients

Managing abusive patients

Abuse from patients is a growing concern for dental professionals. Protocols differ between NHS and private care, and across UK nations; however, one principle is clear: no dental team member should face abuse.

Advice

Managing and informing patients

Managing patient appointments

Suggestions on successful ways of managing patient appointments in your practice.

Advice

Private practice

Moving to private practice in Northern Ireland

What to consider if you are thinking of moving from Health Service dentistry to private practice.

Advice

Managing and informing patients

Safety precautions during out-of-hours care and domiciliary visits

Providing urgent care outside standard working hours or in a domiciliary setting comes with additional risks.

Advice

NHS contracts and tendering

Running out of UDAs before the end of the year in England and Wales

Here are our recommendations to avoid exhausting NHS activity before the end of the year.

Advice

Business management

Death and serious illness

This advice is aimed at non-dentists who find themselves in the position of managing the practice of a dentist who has died or is too ill to work.

For associates and practice owners

Updated UDA value checker

Understanding the financial details of England's NHS dental contract can be challenging, even for experienced professionals. Our exclusive UDA value checking tool helps members compare their practice to local and national averages, supporting confident and informed choices.
Find out more and download

Related events

Event

Webinar: NHS Contract changes (England) - Practice Owners

This live webinar on Tuesday 17 March will help practice owners with NHS contracts understand how to work with the new contract that is coming into effect on 1 April 2026. This is a BDA member-only session.

Event

Making Tax Digital in April (webinar recording)

Free for members: A recording of a webinar that took place on Wednesday 14 January. Arun Mehra helped UK dentists understand and get ready for the upcoming changes under Making Tax Digital, commencing in April 2026.

Event

Mastering patient communication

The toolkit every dental professional needs but was never taught! Join us for a workshop in London on Friday 17 April and gain skills you can implement immediately to improve patient experience and reduce complaints, whilst boosting practice success, team morale and wellbeing.

Event

Business essentials - May and June 2026

Delivered over two days, Friday 8 May and Friday 26 June, this interactive workshop explores proven commercial techniques that can be applied to a dental business to achieve better financial results and drive profitability.

More business management events
For extra and expert members

Contact our NHS and business team

We provide advice on all matters relating to setting up and running an NHS, private, or mixed practice, including NHS contract terms and variations, clawback, and breach/remedial notices. If you're an Extra or Expert member, you have access to unlimited one-to-one advice from us via phone or email, in addition to the online guidance.
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Victoria Michell, Head of the NHS and Business team, smiling confidently towards the camera
BDA CASE STUDY

Case study: The learning curve of transitioning to private practice

How are other dentists going about transitioning from NHS to private dentistry? Learn from Rachele from Delicate Dental, who talked to us about her experience switching adult patients to private treatment.
Find out more