Margaret graduated with commendation from Glasgow University in 1985. She worked in the Hospital Service in Glasgow, Wales and Edinburgh before gaining her Fellowship in Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1988. She then worked at the University of California, San Fransisco, before returning to complete her Orthodontic Specialist Training. She graduated with her Masters degree from Glasgow University and her Membership in Dentofacial Orthopaedics from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, where she was awarded the gold medal in 1994. She has worked in Specialist Orthodontic Practice in Edinburgh since 1994.