Mark qualified as a nurse in 1986 in Leeds and worked in intensive care at the Leeds General Infirmary. Soon after, he enrolled as a dental student at Leeds University and left with an honours degree in 1991. He joined the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit at the Leeds Dental Institute and St James University Hospital. In 1993, he moved to the Maxillofacial, Burns and Plastic Surgery Unit at Pinderfields Hospital, obtained his FDS in 1995 and registration as a specialist soon after.