The Dental State of the Nation – two weeks in to January 2026

It's been a busy start to the year

I’ve kicked off 2026 with a full slate of strategic planning sessions across the UK, and one thing is crystal clear: the independent dental sector is at a pivotal inflection point.

Not a crossroads. A pressure point.

At one end of the spectrum, practices are chasing 7- and 8-figure exit valuations. At the other, exhausted principals are trying to reclaim their time, rebuild stability, and simply make the machine work without their constant presence. Yet whether aiming for sale or sanity, the pain points — and the levers of growth — are strikingly similar.

Here’s what I'm seeing on the ground.

1. The £6M Club is getting serious

There’s a quiet surge in practices targeting premium exits (£3m–£6m+), and they know the numbers: they need to hit 7.5–10% CAGR on EBITDA, push pricing annually, and shift fully to digital workflows.

AI, 3D printing, and treatment planning software are no longer “nice to haves” but essentials.

But talk is cheap—and without implementation discipline, the risk of stagnation is real. Many have the vision. Few yet have the operating rhythm to match.

2. Associates are driving the bus — and that’s a risk

Multiple practices I met this fortnight are now almost 100% associate-led clinically. That’s a smart play for valuation — but with it comes a brittle reality: a handful of clinicians now carry 90%+ of production. One associate on leave, and the wheels wobble. No key-person insurance. No documented succession plan. And marketing? “Not interested, too busy.”

That’s not a business—it’s a balancing act.

3. The conversion bottleneck is everywhere

High-value plans — cosmetic, full-mouth, implant — are sitting on shelves, un-presented, unpaid, and gathering metaphorical dust. We’re seeing the same across practices from Yorkshire to London: associates are great clinically but struggle to convert.

The answer? Hire or develop patient coordinators trained in treatment presentation. Use Smile Simulation. Use Gamma. But do not let £30,000+ of potential revenue rot in an unprinted PDF.

4. Marketing is shifting—finally

The message is landing: inbound marketing is compounding, sustainable and buyer-friendly.

Practices are beginning to repurpose FAQ content, automate review collection, and hand control of channels to trained (and often internal) marketing coordinators. Those still reliant on PPC as their sole source of new patients? Nervous — and rightly so.

5. Everyone wants out of the chair—but few know how

From Dipesh to Bob, from Becky to Sara, we’ve heard the same cry: “I’m doing too much, and nothing strategic ever gets done.” The good news? More principals are taking the first steps to delegate properly: building out ops managers, recruiting patient coordinators, and blocking out three hours a week for protected “CEO time”.

6. AI is no longer future tech — it’s now

Gamma, Plaud, Claude, ChatGPT, and AI-driven bookkeeping are being tested in real-time.

And the use cases are growing: note-taking, treatment planning, slide decks, team training, conversion tracking. But adoption is patchy. The difference is this: the practices building AI into workflow systems are already saving time and boosting case acceptance. The rest are still waiting for a perfect moment.

7. The price of inaction is now higher than the price of change

Most strategic plans fail not for lack of insight, but for lack of implementation. “Brilliant at everything except doing the right thing” is a phrase that came up more than once this week. The antidote? Simple: quarterly waypoints, focused sprints, team buy-in, and one owner (not everyone) driving accountability.

So what?

If you’re a UK dental practice owner, here’s the honest diagnosis:

• You don’t need more information.

• You need structure, execution, and rhythm.

• And you need to stop postponing the critical work — delegation, pricing, patient flow, and tech adoption — because it’s “not urgent today.”

January is a false dawn for many. But for those who commit, this year could be the inflection point.

Let’s make sure you’re one of them.

https://www.coachbarrow.com/the100