Private dental services market study

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a market study into the supply of private dental services in the UK.

• From: Competition and Markets Authority
• Published: 5 March 2026
• Last updated: 17 July 2026 — See all updates

• Case type: Markets
• Case state: Open
• Market sector: Healthcare and medical equipment
• Opened: 5 March 2026

Administrative timetable 

Date	Action
4 March 2027	Statutory deadline
March 2027	Publication of final report
5 March 2026	Launch of the market study

Our project roadmap covers what to expect at important stages of the market study and how to engage with us. We will update this throughout the study.  

Update and further stakeholder input

17 July 2026: The CMA has published an update on our study. It gives an overview of our engagement to date, confirms the scope of the market study, and highlights where we seek further stakeholder input. 

• Private dental services market study update (PDF, 2.1KB) (17.7.26) 
• Independent dental practices questionnaire

Responses to invitation to comment on statement of scope 

17 July 2026: The CMA has published responses to its invitation to comment on the statement of scope (published on 5 March 2026), which set out the views of individuals, businesses, consumer groups and representative bodies who commented on our proposed scope.   

• Association of Dental Groups (PDF, 136KB) (17.7.26)
• British Dental Association (PDF, 914KB) (17.7.26) 
• Bupa (PDF, 327KB) (17.7.26) 
• Denplan (PDF, 392KB) (17.7.26) 
• DentaClarity (PDF, 311KB) (17.7.26) 
• Envisage Dental (PDF, 384KB) (17.7.26) 
• FAB Holdings Ltd (PDF, 321KB) (17.7.26) 
• mydentist (PDF, 189KB) (17.7.26) 
• PortmanDentex (PDF, 160KB) (17.7.26) 
• Riverdale Healthcare (PDF, 202KB) (17.7.26) 
• Rodericks (PDF, 448KB) (17.7.26) 
• Which? (PDF, 165KB) (17.7.26) 
• A mid-size dental group (PDF, 120KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 1 (PDF, 97KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 2 (PDF, 249KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 3 (PDF, 105KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 4 (PDF, 253KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 5 (PDF, 103KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 6 (PDF, 130KB) (17.7.26) 
• Individual 7 (PDF, 89KB) (17.7.26)

Launch of market study 

5 March 2026: The CMA launched a market study into the supply of private dental services in the UK.  

We invited views from 5 March to 2 April 2026 from all interested parties on the proposed scope of the market study set out in the statement of scope.

• Market study notice (PDF, 72KB) (5.3.26) 
• Statement of scope (PDF, 1.6MB) (5.3.26) 
• Private dentistry market study hub (5.3.26) 
• Press release: CMA launches review of private dentistry (5.3.26) 

Call for views

The call for views from consumers and dental professionals closed on 19 March 2026. A summary of responses is in our update published on 17 July 2026.

• Consumers call for views (5.3.26) 
• Dental professionals call for views (5.3.26) 

Relevant correspondence

• CMA correspondence in relation to private provision in the dentistry market (5.3.26)

Consumer advice

5 March 2026: The CMA has published guidance on choosing and paying for dental care.

• Choosing and paying for dental care (5.3.26)

Contact

dentistry@cma.gov.uk   

 Personal information 

The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its market studies under the Enterprise Act 2002. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. 

For more information about how the CMA handles personal data, visit the CMA’s personal information charter.

Published 5 March 2026

Last updated 17 July 2026 — Show all updates

1. 17 July 2026

   Further stakeholder input requested, responses to statement of scope and market study update published.

2. 5 March 2026

   First published.