Private practice recovery

This is based on the latest benchmarking statistics from the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL).  The average net profit in 2012/13 for a principal of a private practice was £124,086 compared to £125,958 for a principal of an NHS practice.

Calculated annually by NASDAL firm Humphrey and Co, the statistics are gathered from a sample of practices across the UK to provide average ‘state-of-the-nation’ figures.  They are used by NASDAL accountants to benchmark their clients’ earnings and expenditure and to help them run their practices more profitably.

Looking at the market as a whole, the financial performance of a typical dental practice has changed little. What’s interesting is to see how differently NHS and private practices are faring due to the flexibility that private principals have to adjust fees, activity levels and costs.

NHS practices have experienced a modest increase in fee income but a significant increase in overheads and as a result have seen a continued downward trend in profitability. By contrast, private practices have enjoyed their first increase in profits since the financial year 2007/8.