Cost of Setting Up a Dental Practice

One of the first questions most dentists ask is: how much does it cost to set up a dental practice?

The honest answer is that there isn’t a single figure that applies to every project.

Two practices of a similar size can require very different levels of capital, depending on how the space is used, how the practice needs to operate and what already exists behind the walls.

Early estimates often fall down because they rely on assumptions that only hold true in ideal conditions.

This guide explains what actually drives costs in UK dental practice projects, why headline figures can be misleading and how to plan your budget with fewer surprises later on.

What drives the cost of a dental practice fit-out?

Dental practice costs vary widely because they are shaped by more than just square metres and finishes.

At a high level, your total capital requirement is made up of two parts:

• Build and fit-out costs
  The physical work required to create compliant clinical spaces.
• Working capital
  The cash needed to cover running costs while the practice becomes established.

This page focuses on the first part, where most budget overruns occur.

Why £/m² figures only tell part of the story

Cost-per-square-metre figures are often used as a starting point, but they can hide important detail.

A practice with fewer, lightly equipped surgeries may cost less than a smaller space that includes multiple surgeries, imaging, decontamination and central plant.

The clinical intensity of the space matters just as much as its size.

Central plant and services

Compressors, suction units, autoclaves and water treatment systems are rarely visible on a floor plan, yet they play a major role in cost and layout.

Plant rooms, service runs and access for maintenance all need to be considered early. Retrofitting these later is one of the most common causes of budget creep.

Understanding these drivers is the difference between a budget that holds up under scrutiny and one that only works on paper.

Refurbishment vs new build: cost and risk differences

Whether you refurbish an existing practice or start from a shell affects how cost and risk behave.

Neither route is automatically cheaper or more expensive. The difference lies in predictability, not headline budget.

Some refurbishments are light-touch projects. New flooring, décor updates or targeted room upgrades can be straightforward and cost-effective. Others involve deeper changes that introduce more uncertainty. New builds and squat practices usually cost more overall, but tend to behave more consistently once decisions are locked in.

Understanding where complexity comes from helps you set realistic budgets and contingencies from the outset.

Refurbishing an existing practice

Refurbishment covers a wide spectrum.

At one end, you may only be updating finishes, flooring or cabinetry. These projects can be tightly controlled with minimal risk if the underlying services are sound.

Complexity increases when scope extends beyond visible finishes, especially if the practice must remain operational.

Live practices introduce additional constraints:

• Works often need to be phased or completed out of hours
• Temporary solutions may be required to keep surgeries running
• Noise, dust and access must be carefully managed

These factors add time and cost that are not obvious from drawings alone.

Even when a practice closes for works, refurbishment can still carry hidden risk. Existing buildings may conceal:

• Legacy pipework and cabling
• Limited electrical or drainage capacity
• Structural constraints that restrict layout changes

Until finishes are removed, these issues are not fully visible. This is why contingency is more important on refurbishment projects that go beyond surface-level upgrades.

Setting up a squat dental practice

A new build or shell unit offers a clean starting point.

Services can be designed from first principles, layouts can be optimised for workflow and compliance is built in rather than worked around. This often leads to a more efficient long-term outcome.

Squat practices require earlier decisions:

• Planning and building control approvals must be secured
• Landlord requirements can influence layout and services
• Key design choices need to be fixed before works begin

There are typically fewer unknowns behind the walls, but also less flexibility to change direction later without cost implications.

Typical cost ranges for UK dental practices

At this stage, it is important to stress that there are no standard prices for dental practice projects.

What can be shared are typical ranges, based on patterns seen across similar projects. These ranges overlap because real-world factors often push projects in different directions.

The purpose of sharing ranges is not to provide certainty, but to help you sense-check whether your expectations align with the reality of dental fit-out projects.

Ballpark cost estimator

The estimator below is designed to help you sense-check your budget, not define it.

It uses high-level inputs such as overall size and specification to generate a broad budget range based on typical UK dental practice projects. The range you see does not account for site-specific factors such as hidden services, access limitations or structural alterations.

If the range broadly aligns with your expectations, the next step is to move beyond estimation and look at your project in context, using plans, photos and a brief to develop a more meaningful budget.

Indicative budget range only

This estimate is a high-level guide based on typical dental practice projects.

It is not a quote and does not reflect site-specific conditions, existing services or building constraints.

The figures are intended for early planning only. A tailored budget requires a review of plans, photos and project requirements.

Why estimates change once planning starts

Early estimates are built on assumptions. As soon as a project moves into planning, those assumptions are tested against the reality of the building and how the practice needs to operate.

Common reasons budgets shift include:

• Floor plan efficiency
  Two practices with the same overall area can behave very differently depending on circulation, room sizes and adjacencies. Inefficient layouts often increase build cost without increasing clinical capacity.
• Existing services and capacity
  Electrical supplies, drainage routes, air and suction capacity are frequently inadequate for modern clinical demands. Upgrades can be required once surveys and strip-out begin.
• Access and phasing
  Live practices, restricted access and limited working hours extend programmes and increase labour costs. These factors are rarely visible at estimation stage.
• Compliance-driven design changes
  Ventilation, decontamination workflows and radiation protection can require design revisions once detailed layouts are reviewed.

None of this means an early estimate was wrong. It means it was doing its job, providing direction rather than certainty.

The next step is not a quote. It is a project brief, used to identify risks, clarify scope and determine what level of investment the building is likely to require.

Request a tailored budget assessment

If you would like a more informed view of your project, you can submit a short project brief below.

This allows us to review your requirements in context and provide guidance that reflects how the practice will actually be delivered, rather than how it appears on paper.

You do not need final plans to start this process. Approximate layouts, photos and notes are often enough to identify key cost drivers early.

Frequently asked questions about dental practice costs

How much does it cost to set up a squat dental practice in the UK?

There is no single figure, as costs depend on size, clinical scope and specification.

As a broad guide, setting up a squat dental practice typically requires a higher upfront investment than a light refurbishment, but it often involves fewer unknowns. New services can be designed from first principles, layouts can be optimised for workflow and compliance is built in rather than worked around.

Early budgets usually include building works, clinical fit-out and core infrastructure, but exclude property purchase, professional fees and working capital.

Is refurbishing cheaper than starting from scratch?

Refurbishment can appear cheaper initially, but this is not always the case.

Live refurbishments often involve phased works, out-of-hours working and unknown conditions behind existing finishes. These factors can increase time, complexity and contingency.

New builds and squat practices offer a cleaner starting point, but require earlier commitment to design decisions and approvals. In many cases, the overall investment between the two routes can overlap once risk and programme are taken into account.

What costs are often missed in dental practice budgets?

Commonly overlooked costs include:

• Upgrades to existing electrical, drainage or ventilation services
• Space and infrastructure for central plant and equipment
• Compliance-driven design changes identified during planning
• Programme extensions caused by restricted access or live working

These costs tend to surface once surveys and strip-out begin, which is why early estimates should always be treated as indicative.

How accurate are online cost calculators?

Online calculators are useful for early planning and sense-checking expectations.

They can indicate whether a project is likely to fall within a certain range, but they cannot account for site-specific factors such as existing services, access constraints or structural conditions.

For dental practices, accurate budgets are developed through site review, layout analysis and an understanding of how the practice needs to operate during and after the works.