By Martin Febery, Just4Dentis partner
This week we spoke to a dentist coming towards the end of her training, trying to figure out what to do next. There was one big factor in mind: starting a family in the near future.
It’s a situation we see all the time. There are plenty of options and a lot of noise around what you “should” be doing, but not always much clarity on what actually matters.
The conversation started with a really common question: NHS, private, or a mix of both?
On the surface, it’s easy to assume that private work is the better option because of higher earning potential. But when you take a step back and look at the next couple of years, the picture becomes a lot more nuanced. In this case, one of the key factors was NHS maternity pay. Once you’ve built up the required service, it can provide a valuable and reliable income during time off. It’s often something that’s overlooked but incredibly important when you’re planning a family.
We also spent some time talking about the NHS pension, which is often underestimated. It’s a defined benefit scheme, so it provides a guaranteed income for life, increases with inflation, and includes a significant employer contribution. Even a relatively short period of service early in your career can make a meaningful difference later on.
Private work still has its place, of course. It can offer more flexibility and, in the right circumstances, be more tax efficient. But in the short term, particularly around maternity, those advantages don’t always outweigh the security and structure that NHS work provides.
As the conversation developed, the focus naturally shifted away from trying to maximise income straight away, and towards something more practical.
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What actually puts you in the best position over the next few years?
That includes being in a practice you enjoy working in, having confidence that your income is protected during maternity, and keeping your options open for the future.
In this case the dentist was reasonably risk-averse and so for her particular situation, leaning towards a more NHS-focused role for now made a lot of sense. Not necessarily forever, but for this stage. It provides stability, helps build a solid financial foundation, and still leaves plenty of flexibility to move towards private work later on.
There is no perfect answer in cases like this- no rulebook to follow. But there’s a big difference between chasing the highest possible income from day one and making decisions that actually fit your life and your timing. Getting that balance right early on can make things a lot easier further down the line.
