Q: Tell us a bit about Dentstock and why you set it up?
A: My background is in healthcare operations. I started out in the NHS and worked in a few health tech start-ups before unexpectedly moving into dentistry after COVID.
I joined a high-end cosmetic practice in an operations management role while also overseeing procurement for a property developer part time .
Coming from that background of fast-moving healthcare start-ups, I was struck by just how fragmented and inefficient purchasing was in dentistry.
A huge amount of time and effort went into procurement, but the returns were minimal, and there were no proper tools or systems in the UK market to make it easier, faster, or more cost effective.
I saw a clear gap to build a complete procurement solution for dental practices, one that combines group purchasing power, data insights, and technology to deliver results that no single element could achieve on its own.
Drawing inspiration from the success of Group Purchasing Organisations (GPOs) in the US, and adapting that model to fit the realities of UK practices, Dentstock was born.
We launched earlier this year, and our first customers came on board in January 2025.
Q: Is there a particular area where you find most of the procurement savings can be made?
A: We consistently see two main areas where we have the biggest impact for practices.
The first is the low-frequency, non-clinical purchases. These are the items that sit outside a practice’s day-to-day focus, so they often go unchecked.
Suppliers know this and price accordingly and most practices don’t have a clear idea of what they should be paying, so they end up overpaying without realising it.
Multiply that across dozens of similar items, and you’re looking at a meaningful amount of avoidable spend.
The second is mindset overvaluing products that don’t affect clinical outcomes.
Practices can get attached to certain brands or SKUs, even when there are functionally-identical alternatives.
The price difference might only be a few pounds per item, but when you’re buying hundreds of those products each year, those marginal gains become major savings.
Our role isn’t just to negotiate better pricing ,it’s to reshape how practices think about procurement, creating a more-strategic and seamless approach.
Q: What sort of savings are possible with better procurement approaches?
A: We recently onboarded a large private practice and identified over £23,000 in savings on its clinical supplies alone, a 24.25% reduction in their spending on supplies, and that was just one area of their business we have worked on so far.
For them, that’s equivalent to hiring an additional nurse part time or investing in a new high-spec chair.
Better procurement also saves time. Our customers benefit from a platform which brings suppliers into one place, giving practices a single, intuitive system for ordering and benchmarking.
From client feedback, this typically saves between 20 minutes to an hour per order placed, time that can be reallocated to patient care, business development, or simply reducing operational drag.
Q: What is your advice to dental managers looking to enhance their procurement activities?
A: Most practices currently follow one of two approaches: either relying on a single supplier for everything, or spending significant time shopping around online. Dentstock essentially launched the third option.
As a Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO), we have access to a broad spread of industry pricing, which allows us to benchmark accurately and negotiate effectively.
Regardless of the approach a practice currently takes, we typically find 15–25% savings on their current spend.
For those managing procurement internally, my advice would be to really understand your costs, benchmark effectively, and look for opportunities to standardise product use within your practice ,that alone can unlock a lot of hidden value.
Q: Do procurement practices differ depending on the size of the operator?
A: We work with both independent practices and groups, and while their structures differ, the core challenges are often the same: lack of visibility, fragmented processes, and pricing challenges.
Many operators assume that simply buying more will automatically give them preferential pricing. In reality, that’s not always true.
What matters is understanding where your buying power truly lies and having the right structure to leverage it effectively.
For independents, we often uncover significant savings simply by bringing clarity and strategy to their spend. For small groups, the impact comes from implementing consistent processes, shared data, and unified procurement systems - that's where scale starts to translate into real commercial advantage.
Q: What’s next for Dentstock?
A: Our focus is on continuing to support independent practices and emerging groups, providing the procurement backbone they need to grow sustainably.
We’re expanding beyond clinical supplies into other service areas where practices often face issues ,from unreliable third parties to variable pricing.
Our goal is to help practices purchase everything they need more transparently, efficiently, and confidently.
Importantly, Dentstock operates on a subscription basis. We don’t take kickbacks or commissions. We believe the customer is the practice, not the supplier. That principle underpins everything we do and enables Dentstock to be aligned with the practices we work with.
Over the next few years, we’ll keep broadening what’s included in that subscription so practices can unlock even more value through one trusted procurement partner.