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The CMA private dental market study: a dated tracker and what it means for your marketing

Last reviewed against the regulators’ own text, linked in the sources below.

This is general information, not legal advice.

On this page
  1. What the study is
  2. Timeline
  3. What has been published
  4. What it could mean for marketing
  5. What to do now
  6. Update log
  7. Sources

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is running a market study into private dental services across the UK. It launched on 5 March 2026 and the final report is due by the statutory deadline of 4 March 2027.1 As of 1 October 2026 the latest publication is the CMA's update of 17 July 2026, and the next expected step is its "emerging thinking", which the CMA's roadmap places in October to November 2026.2

I keep this page as a tracker. Each time the CMA publishes, I add it to the timeline and the update log below, and I say what it changes for a practice's marketing. For every other rulebook, see the hub for dental advertising rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

  • Nothing in the study is a finding yet. The CMA says its July update "does not set out any findings or conclusions".3
  • Price information and sales pressure both come up under the CMA's themes, and both touch marketing directly.
  • Price transparency is already a GDC standard, so acting on it now is compliance, not guesswork.

What the study is

A market study is the CMA's tool for examining how a whole market works for consumers. It isn't an investigation of any one practice. At the end, the CMA can make recommendations to government, take enforcement action where it suspects breaches of consumer or competition law, or highlight issues for others to act on.3

The study covers "preventative, clinically necessary and cosmetic treatments" across the UK.2 The CMA has confirmed five themes: consumer journey and choice, competition, conduct, regulatory frameworks and market outcomes.3 Price transparency (patients being able to see and compare costs before they commit) runs through the first and fourth.

Independent practices are central to it. The CMA says the independent segment represents "around 65% of dental practices in the UK".3

Timeline

DateEventStatus on 1 Oct 2026
5 March 2026Launch: market study notice, statement of scope, calls for views, consumer guidance1Published
19 March 2026Calls for views from patients and professionals close1Closed
2 April 2026Deadline for responses to the statement of scope2Closed
17 July 2026Update, published scope responses, independent practice questionnaire1Published
End of July 2026Independent practice questionnaire closes3Closed
October to November 2026Emerging thinking and possible remedies, open for views2Expected, not yet published
4 March 2027Final report, statutory deadline1Due

What has been published

Launch, 5 March 2026. The statement of scope, the market study notice, calls for views, and a consumer guide, "Choosing and paying for dental care".1 That guide matters to marketing because it tells patients what to expect from you. It says dentists "should give clear information on their prices on their websites", and it tells patients to "look around and compare prices".4

Update, 17 July 2026. The CMA summarised nearly 8,000 free-text responses to its calls for views and 21 responses to its scope.3 Points relevant to marketing, reported as views the CMA heard, not as findings:

ThemeWhat the CMA reported hearing3Marketing touchpoint
Consumer journeySome patients felt the true cost of treatment "only became apparent at a late stage"Price pages, treatment page pricing, consultation fees
Consumer journeyConfusion about NHS and private options in mixed practicesService pages, ads, booking flow
Payment plansDental payment plans are in scope; wider finance is not a focus "at this stage"Plan pages, membership promotions
ConductSome patients reported feeling pressure to receive treatment, and an emphasis on sales for cosmetic treatmentOffers, urgency wording, follow-up scripts
CompetitionIndependents said larger groups have bigger marketing budgetsContext only

The CMA also widened its questionnaire from a sample of 400 independent practices to any independent practice that wanted to respond, open until the end of July 2026.3

What it could mean for marketing

The CMA has not proposed anything yet, so everything in this section is my reading, labelled as such. Its own list of possible outcomes includes recommendations "to improve transparency and empower consumers to make good choices".3

If that direction holds, the areas most likely to be touched are:

  • Published prices. A clearer expectation that private fees appear on the website, and possibly in a more comparable form.
  • NHS and private clarity. Practices that offer both may need to make the distinction clearer in ads and on the site. If you're moving your book towards private care, the page on growing private care in a mixed practice covers how to do that without blurring the line.
  • Payment plans. How plan benefits, exclusions and cancellation terms are described.
  • Sales pressure. Countdown offers and "book today" urgency on cosmetic treatment sit badly with the conduct theme.

What to do now

The useful part: the price point is already a professional duty. GDC standard 2.4.2 says "You must give clear information on prices in your practice literature and on your websites".5 A practice that meets that standard today is ready for most outcomes I can see.

  • Publish a price list on the website, including the consultation fee.
  • Put a "from" price on each high-value treatment page, with what changes the final cost.
  • Label NHS and private services clearly wherever both appear.
  • Describe payment plans with their exclusions, not only their monthly price.
  • Remove countdown or pressure wording from cosmetic offers.
  • Subscribe to the CMA case page for email alerts, or check this tracker.

The pricing side of this is worked through in moving a mixed practice to private, and what practices typically pay for a rebuild with proper price pages is covered separately. For a free first read of your price information and ads against the CMA's themes, email [email protected].

Update log

Date checkedWhat changedChange to this page
1 October 2026No new publication since 17 July 2026. Case page last updated 17 July 2026.1Page first published

Sources

  1. Competition and Markets Authority, "Private dental services market study" case page, last updated 17 July 2026. https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/private-dental-services-market-study (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Competition and Markets Authority, "How to engage with the CMA's private dental services market study", last updated 17 July 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-engage-with-the-cmas-private-dental-services-market-study (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. Competition and Markets Authority, "Private dental services market study: update", 17 July 2026, paragraphs 6, 11, 12, 16, 19, 24, 33, 48 and 49. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a59e2a924d4d0ad06d9465f/_Private_dental_services_market_study_update__.pdf (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  4. Competition and Markets Authority, "Choosing and paying for dental care", 5 March 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/choosing-and-paying-for-dental-care (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩

  5. General Dental Council, Standards for the Dental Team, standard 2.4.2. https://standards.gdc-uk.org/pages/principle2/principle2.aspx (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩