What Are High-Margin Treatments in a Dental Practice?
High-Margin Treatments are dental procedures that deliver exceptional profit relative to time, materials, and clinical costs. They generate the most net income per hour of chair time — making them the economic engine of a profitable practice.
These treatments typically involve:
- Premium pricing
- Low lab or material cost ratios
- Minimal chair time
- Strong patient demand or treatment bundling
Why High-Margin Treatments Matter for Dental Practice Owners
Not all revenue is created equal.
A £1,200 procedure with £250 in costs over 1 hour is far more profitable than a £1,200 treatment that takes 4 visits, £500 lab fees, and 3 hours of chair time.
Example:
| Treatment | Fee | Total Cost | Chair Time | Margin |
| Teeth Whitening | £450 | £80 | 30 min | 82% |
| Composite Bonding | £1,200 | £220 | 1 hour | 81.7% |
| Invisalign | £4,000 | £1,800 | 6 hours | 55% |
| Molar RCT | £900 | £60 | 2 hours | 93%, but time intensive |
→ Composite Bonding generates more gross profit per hour than Invisalign — even with a lower headline fee.
Common High-Margin Treatments (UK Clinics)
| Category | Examples |
| Cosmetic | Whitening, bonding, short-term ortho, smile makeovers |
| Preventive | Airflow hygiene (if delegated to therapist), fissure sealants |
| Same-Day | Digital crown units with in-house milling |
| Private Essentials | Extractions, fillings, diagnostics with high chair-hour margin |
DentPulse flags high-margin treatments based on your real costs and clinician time.
How DentPulse Identifies and Boosts High-Margin Treatments
| Feature | Function |
| TreatmentIQ | Tracks true profit per procedure and per provider |
| EEE™ | Combines margin with chair and associate time for net profitability |
| Fee Optimiser | Compares fee vs. cost vs. margin to suggest price changes |
| Case Mix Shift | Models how small changes in treatment mix improve EBITDA |
| Hourly Margin Engine | Ranks procedures by profit/hour — not just gross fee |
DentPulse lets you stop guessing — and start scaling treatments that make time worth more.
DentPulse Tip™
Stop chasing high-fee dentistry.
Start chasing high-margin dentistry.Your most profitable treatments may be faster, simpler, and more scalable than you realise — especially when viewed hour-by-hour, not case-by-case.
Related Glossary Terms
- TreatmentIQ – Tracks margin per treatment, provider, and chair
- EEE™ – EBIT Efficiency Engine – Connects margin to overall practice profitability
- Gross Profit Margin – Core metric for treatment-level financial success
- Case Mix – The types of treatments delivered in your practice
- Fee Optimisation – Strategic pricing for higher net profitability
Glossary Summary Table
| Term | Meaning |
| High-Margin Treatments | Procedures that deliver exceptional profit relative to time, cost, and clinical resources |
| Key Trait | High profit/hour, low variable cost, strong demand |
| Common Examples | Whitening, bonding, simple private extractions |
| DentPulse Advantage | Identifies high-margin winners using real-time chair, fee, and cost data |
