Mortgages for Dentists: Associates, Principals and Newly Qualified

Dentists are well placed to borrow. Earnings are strong, the profession is regulated, and several lenders include dentists in their professional mortgage ranges with higher income multiples. The complication is that most dentists are self-employed, and how a lender reads your income matters as much as how much you earn.

This guide to mortgages for dentists covers the main routes for associates, practice owners and newly qualified dentists. Lender details were checked in November 2026 and criteria change regularly.

Associate dentists

Most associates are self-employed under an associate agreement. Lenders usually assess your income from your tax calculations (SA302s) and tax year overviews, or your accounts. The main questions are:

• How many years of figures you have. Many lenders want two years, but some will consider one full year of self-employment, which helps if you became an associate recently.

• Which figure they use. Lenders normally take your net profit after expenses such as lab fees, not your gross fees. Where income has risen, some lenders use the latest year while others average the last two.

• Your mix of NHS and private work. Lenders do not usually mind the split, but a clear associate agreement helps.

Our guides to self-employed mortgages and SA302s and tax year overviews explain the paperwork.

Practice owners and principals

If you own a practice through a limited company, many lenders assess your salary and dividends. Some will instead use your share of the company's net profit, which can produce a much higher figure if you leave profit in the business. If you are a partner or sole trader, your share of the profit is assessed in the same way as an associate's.

Buying a practice, or the building it trades from, is commercial finance rather than a residential mortgage. We can help with that too. On larger commercial loans a fee may apply, and it is always agreed with you before we proceed.

Newly qualified and foundation dentists

During dental foundation training you are usually employed on a salary for the training year, so lenders assess you as an employee on a fixed-term contract. The challenge comes when you move into associate work: as a new self-employed associate you may not yet have a full year of accounts. Some lenders accept a newly qualified professional with a contract or offer letter in place. Hodge, for example, has no minimum time since qualifying for its professional mortgage. Timing your purchase around that move is often the key decision.

Professional mortgages for dentists

These lenders include dentists in their professional mortgage criteria:

• Metro Bank: up to 6 times income for dentists who are fully qualified, registered and practising, and who qualified within the last ten years.

• Hodge: up to 6 times income, up to 90% loan-to-value on repayment, with no minimum or maximum time since qualifying.

• Scottish Building Society: which now lends in England and Wales, offers 5 times income on its published criteria, up to 95% loan-to-value for loans up to £500,000.

The right lender depends on how your income is structured, your deposit and the property. A higher multiple is not always the cheapest option overall.

What you will need

• Proof of GDC registration

• SA302s and tax year overviews, or company accounts, for the years the lender asks for

• Your associate agreement, or your contract if you are employed

• Three months of bank statements

• Proof of deposit

Book a consultation

Doctors and dentists make up a large part of our client base, so self-employed associate income and practice accounts are familiar ground. Our mortgage advice is fee-free and we are whole of market, and we can arrange evening and early-morning appointments around your clinic hours. Book a free consultation to find out what you could borrow.

As a self-employed dentist you will not have an employer's sick pay to fall back on, so it is also worth looking at income protection alongside your mortgage.

Sources: Metro Bank professional mortgage range; Hodge Professional Mortgage; Scottish Building Society professional mortgages (lender criteria pages, checked November 2026).

Lender criteria quoted were checked in November 2026 and can change at any time. All lending is subject to the lender's affordability assessment, credit checks and property valuation.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.