DENTOLOGY - The Business of Dentistry

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris talk to Kunal Patel, owner and Clinical Director of Love Teeth Dental Practice, a state-of-the-art practice based in Sutton, Surrey, where he works alongside his wife, Lucy. Despite only having been a dentist for 12 years, Kunal is one of only two UK dentists to become a FastBraces Senior Master Affiliate, and he also achieved Invisalign Diamond Provider status in record time! In this episode, Kunal talks about working as a clinical dentist and his journey into practice ownership. He explains his decisions and business plans to grow Love Teeth into a multiple practice brand, the steps he’s taking to achieve this goal and shares his secrets to success for recruiting a great team! Finally, Kunal talks about the dreadful targeted attack he was recently subjected to and the impact this has had on his everyday life with his wife and family. A great listen! Topics: - Pathway into dentistry - Clinical dentist to practice ownership - Love Teeth: a family business / growth into a multiple practice brand - Why via squats? - The timeline and numbers for your 1stpractice to date - What’s your secret to success for recruitment? - What impact did the recent targeted attack you were subjected to have on how you live your life? - How did your parents react?

Our guest this week on the Dentology Podcast is Claire Berry, award winning hygienist and facial aesthetics specialist qualifying from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh whilst serving in the Army. With lots of experience, she is also a key opinion leader for big names such as Oral B and writes articles for dental journals and magazines and has been featured in other magazines such as Yorkshire Brides, PBL and other aesthetic publications. She carries out facial aesthetics and has been doing this for a number of years, in which time she is becoming known for her bespoke natural lip enhancements, as well as more advanced procedures. In this episode, Claire chats to Chris and Andy about her childhood, her passion for sport, the years she spent serving in the Army and some of the challenges faced on leaving. She also talks about the beautiful private practice in Leeds where she currently works 4 days a week, her role as co-founder of the nationwide study club, the Contemporary Hygienistand shares her thoughts on where she sees hygiene going in the future as part of long-term dental care. A great episode – enjoy! Topics: - Background & childhood - Your enthusiasm for sports - Your army days & adjusting to civilian life - The driver behind creating the Contemporary Hygienist - Where do you see hygiene going in the future as part of dental care?

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris chat to Dr Robbie Hughes, principal director at Dental Excellence, a dental practice and cutting-edge laboratory in Liverpool. Robbie qualified from the University of Liverpool in 2008 with honours and an array of prestigious awards for distinction grades and exceptional clinical performance. Very early in his career he set his sights on promoting excellence within the private dental sector, with a very special interest in cosmetic dentistry. In this episode of Dentology Robbie talks about his background, the lessons he’s learnt from sport that can be taken into business and he explains more about his forward-thinking approach to business and his work within the dental sector. He talks about the reasons why he wanted to own his own dental practice, his plans for business development and next steps. He also tells us more about his other business ventures and partnerships – Avant Garde Dentistry, a digital smile design business, and MediForm that is changing up the scrubs game! This is a great episode with a very focused and driven guest! Topics: - Where does your drive come from? - What did boxing teach you that you have taken with you into business? - Was owning a dental practice a given for you? - The changes you wanted to bring about into dentistry - What’s the big picture for Dental Excellence (practice & lab)? - Avant Garde Dentistry: how far are we into the digitisation of dentistry based on what you’re seeing? - MediForm: what was available on the market that you wanted to fix? - What is the biggest mistake you’ve made?

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris discuss the principles of management. Management is an important part of any business as without a strong and reliable management team to deliver the company vision and ensure effective processes are in place, it won’t succeed. In this podcast episode Chris and Andy also explore the four characteristics of management and discuss why every business needs effective managers to achieve results. To hear more from Chris and Andy, have a listen to this episode. Topics: - What is management? - How does management differ to leadership? - The importance of having a good management team - The four characteristics of management - Why management is vital to achieve results

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Andy and Chris chat to Alfonso Rao, co-founder of Apollonia Clinics. Alfonso tells us about life growing up in Italy, the influences that drew him to a career in dentistry and how dental practices differ in Italy and the UK.  He shares the reasons he moved to the UK, why he chose to base himself in Bristol and how he only learnt to speak English some 12 years ago! Now the owner of 8 dental practices, Alfonso tells Chris and Andy about life being his own boss and what his plans are for the future growth of his dental practice group. He also talks about the importance of maintaining a good work life balance and shares details of his new venture, the Delta Dental Academy, where is now focusing on teaching others in the profession. A great episode – enjoy. Topics: - Your childhood in Italy - Why dentistry? - How does dentistry different between Italy and the UK? - Moving to the UK - Opening your first practice - What is life like working in one of your practices? - How do you maintain a good work life balance? - The Delta Dental Academy

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Andy and Chris chat to Nicola Gore, principal at Totteridge Dental Studio. With so many roles to juggle, from being a mum of two, long-standing VT/FD Trainer, owner of two dental practices, publisher of a dental book, and founder of the British Iran Dental Association (BIDA), Nicola shares her story and achievements with Chris and Andy in this latest podcast episode. She tells Chris and Andy about her background growing up in the UK and Iran and explains what drove her to pursue a career in dentistry. She also shares some great advice for younger people thinking about dentistry as a profession and explains what her teaching role entails. Finally, having recently written and published a book “Dentistry in a Nutshell”, a practical guide to clinical dentistry, Nicola tells Chris and Andy about her book, her work as founder of the BIDA and what’s next on the horizon for her! Topics: - Tell us about your background & childhood - Pathway to the UK - Any advice to younger people thinking about a career in dentistry? - Your role as a Foundation Dentist Trainer - Who are your mentors? - Your book “Dentistry in a Nutshell” - The British Iran Dental Association - Working alongside your husband - How do you juggle your time?

This week we welcome Dr Chinwe Akuonu to the Dentology podcast. Chinwe has been a qualified hygienist for almost 10 years having qualified in Italy in 2013 and is now successfully pursuing a career as a Dentist since qualifying from Kings College in 2021. In this episode of Dentology, Chinwe tells us more about her early days and journey to the UK and explains the key factors that have driven her towards a career in dentistry. She also shares more on her success at winning the KCL Patient Consideration Prize in 2020 and gives us her tips and advice on how best to manage dental anxiety. Chinwe is a currently a Key Opinion Leader with Colgate, so we look forward to hearing more about the exciting projects she has coming up! Definitely an episode not to be missed! Topics: - Your story & journey to the UK - The driver to pursue a career in dentistry - Tips for managing dental anxiety - Describe a typical working week - Being a Key Opinion Leader with Colgate - Any exciting new projects? - Describe the toughest thing you’ve been through - Future career path?

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris discuss leadership styles and how these are implemented across different businesses and in different situations. They chat about the importance of having a leadership style that fits with your business and its goals, and how important it is to be authentic in your chosen style. A leadership style isn’t something you can copy from someone else or pretend to have. To find out more and hear the thoughts of both Chris and Andy, have a listen to this great episode. Topics: - What is leadership? - Examples of some incredible leaders and how their styles differ - The importance of being authentic - What are the different styles of leadership? - How can leadership work in your business/practice?

This week we welcome Nicki Rowland to the Dentology podcast. Nicki is a well-known face and voice in dentistry and is co-founder of The Exceptional Leadership Academy (ELA), a consultancy and training organisation that supports dental businesses to thrive and grow. Nicki has over 30 years’ experience working in an NHS and private dental practice setting having set up and run her own award-winning practice for many years. In this episode, Nicki reflects on what it was like to be a practice owner and tells us more about what the key drivers were that led to the decision to sell. She also explains more about the ELA and shares her thoughts on the future of dentistry. Nicki was nominated into ‘Dentistry’s Top 50’ most influential People in 2021 for her leadership and mentoring support to DCPs across the pandemic – this is a great episode, and one not to be missed! Topics: - How did you get into the dental profession? - Tell us about setting up a practice alongside your husband - Was it the hardest thing you’ve ever done? - Did your views about the patient journey differ? - What was your driver to sell? - Does everyone immediately know what their purpose is? - What do you see for the future of dentistry? - Can dental practices follow a 21stcentury business model?

Andy and Chris chat to Alex Sharp in this week’s episode of Dentology. Alex is a qualified dentist and is passionate about enabling dentists to have a better life in dentistry by helping them find the right working environment. In this episode, Alex talks about how he started out in dentistry and the lessons he’s learnt from various experiences early on in his career that have influenced him to reach where he is today. He also tells us more about the values that underpin his decisions and approach to both life and work and why personal awareness is so important. In his quest to support other dentists just like him, Alex has recently started to build a “community” via Facebook that aims to support other associates in similar situations and provide an outlet for those looking to have a better life in dentistry to be able to share experiences and get advice – you can join this group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1152406788923244 And if you’d like to find out more/receive updates you can sign up here https://mailchi.mp/0537464b4db5/careful-healthcare