How to Become a Self Employed Dentist

Whether you are recently qualified or have been a practicing dentist for years, going self employed is one of the most rewarding options for any professional working in the dentistry trade. 

The guide below offers a breakdown on the pro’s and con’s of going self employed, typical rates of pay and the most successful places to find dentistry work:

Advantages of working as a self employed / freelance dentist

• Virtually guaranteed work due to the huge demand and short supply of freelance dentists.
• Freedom to work when and where you want.
• Lucrative long or short-term locum opportunities from one-day to one-year.
• Opportunities to expand your skills and experience.
• Opportunities to try different places of work.
• Higher rates of pay.
• Exempt from VAT – meaning unlike other trades you do not need to charge or will be charged VAT for your services.
• Being a self employed is one of the most tax efficient ways of working - meaning more take home pay for you.

Rates of a Pay for a Self Empoyed Dentist

Dentistry is one of the most in demand professions within the UK, everybody needs a dentist and there's no shortage for them looming around the corner. The following is purely as a rough guide and is obviously dependent on location and experience (and whatever you can negotiate):

• Self employed trainee dentists in practice will earn around £30,000 or more a year.
• Self employed dentists in practice upwards of £100,000 a year.
• Self employed hospital-based dentists at consultant level can earn between £80,000 to £100,000.

Visit our Sole Trader take home Calculator page for an estimation of what you could take home.

Becoming a Self Employed Dentist

• Firstly register as self employed – Within the first three months of setting up you must register as self employed. Your accountant can do this for you, or you can register on the Inland Revenue website.
• Register with the General Dental Council before practicing – This means as a dentist you promise to follow ethical guidelines in the dealings with patients and failure to do so may call their continued registration into question, so get this done quick.
• Get a business bank account – It is not essential to have a business bank account, however we do recommend keeping your personal and business finances separate as it simplifies everything and makes it clearer to see what funds are where.
• Sort your national insurance - You need to let HMRC know by completing the relevant form, and they will send you a quarterly bill for what is known as ‘Class 2’ National Insurance. This is a basic payment which ensures that you pay enough to cover your future state pension requirements. All additional National Insurance payments (Class 4) are calculated by your accountant when your ends of year figures are completed, and the amount owed is included in your tax bill.
• Ensure you can pay your Tax bill – Once you are self-employed, it is your responsibility to pay the correct amount of tax on time. Visit our 2010/2011 Tax Return page for a full breakdown on how to process your tax
• Expenses – Ensure you claim back on any deductible expenses. In other words any money spent for the purpose of your trade can be claimed back. For example: White cloaks, magazines and books related to dentistry can have costs claimed back on.
• Professional Dental Indemnity Insurance- All active dentists in the UK are required to have appropriate arrangements so patients can claim any compensation they may be entitled to.

The above may sound a lot but with the help and support of a good accountant, administration per month shouldn't be any more than 15 - 20 minutes.

Visit the following page for more information on Setting up as a Sole Trader.

Finding Work as a Self Employed Dentist

Some of the below suggestions will be pretty obvious to those experienced practitioners, but what we will also talk about in this section is how being self employed differs to that of a permanent practitioner.

General dental practice
You can join an established general practice as an ‘associate’. An associate is a self employed dentist responsible for the treatment they provide but working in a practice owned by someone else. Most dentists, after graduating, choose to work in general dental practice, this gives them the chance to build a reputation for themselves. By working as an associate you will not get the benefits such as paid annual or sick leave, however you will have the freedom to arrange your own work hours and choose your specialist areas of interest. By also working as an associate you get the chance to attract and retain patients for the business, potentially making you memorable should you be needed again.

Hospital dentistry
Hospital dentists require more recognised postgraduate qualifications, due to the various specialist areas they will be dealing in. Although hospital dentists tend to see fewer patients than those in general practice, their treatment is usually more complex. Patients with certain medical conditions, congenital abnormalities or facial injuries are sometimes referred to hospital for their dental treatment. The four main specialisms in a hospital dental service are: oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry and restorative dentistry.

Salaried primary care dental service (SPCDS)
Due to the nature of this role, this area of dentistry is even more popular for the self employed. The SPCDS provide dental care for patients in the local community with special needs, the elderly and housebound patients with mental or physical disabilities. The hours vary and it can be rather demanding, however the rewards are very satisfying giving new comers the opportunity to undertake research and take on managerial responsibilities.

Armed forces
Dentists in the armed forces provide dental care for service men and women, both abroad and in the UK. In the armed forces, cadetships at undergraduate level lead to commissions, and dental officers share in many aspects of service life and is probably one of the most rewarding of all ways to work.

Industry
Larger companies such as gas companies and car manufacturers, sometimes employ dentists to provide a dental service to their employees. These positions tend to be few and far between.

University teaching and research
Research is undertaken at universities and is usually combined with teaching at university dental schools, providing the opportunity to pursue a particular interest in great detail. University dental teachers have postgraduate qualifications and can progress to become senior lecturers or professors.

Prison dental services
Maybe not everybody's first option, however with over 150 prisons over the UK (and more due to be opened in the next few years) with the largest prisons housing around 1,500 prisoners, the demand for self employed dentists is very high. Most prisons will only allow 3-3.5 hour sessions a day with rates of pay rather higher than some other areas.

For more hints and tips of finding work, visit our Finding Freelance Work page.

If you have any further questions on working as a Self Employed Dentist please do not hesitate to contact us on: 0500 234111 / 01442 275767 for some free guidance or visit the following page for the option of appointing us as your accountant.