DENTOLOGY - The Business of Dentistry

Adrian Dray, leading dental GDPR expert, talks about the impact of AI in dentistry, focusing on ChatGPT and other AI platforms. He discusses how to stay updated in this emerging area, reputational issues with AI, and the future integration of AI in everyday life.

Our guest on the podcast this week is Dr Sandeep Sadana (aka Dr Sunny!). In this episode, he talks about his dental career and why he chose dentistry over being a doctor or lawyer. He chats about his time at dental school, shares his top tips, explains more about the struggles he faced when starting out, his highs and lows in business and what changed back in 2018 that made him fall back in love with the profession. He goes on to tell us about how he currently splits his time working 2 days a week in a dental practice and spends the rest on an official education programme, DRE – Direct Restorative Excellence – that aims to help dentists overcome restorative problems so they have less stress, earn more, delight their patients and get home in time for dinner with their loved ones! Finally, he chats about nearly buying a dental practice and the reasons why he didn’t go through with the purchase, being an army reservist while at university and his frightening first parachute jump experience!!   Topics: - Why did you chose to be a dentist? - Your dental school experience - Top tip for those still at dental school - Explain more about your struggles with dentistry for the first 8 years - What changed to make you fall back in love with the profession? - How do you split your time? - The DRE programme - Your highs and lows in business - Almost buying a dental practice - Is there pressure in the profession to move from an associate to a principal?

This week we are delighted to be joined by Dr Jason Wong, interim Chief Dental Officer (CDO) at NHS England.  Jason is Dentist and Partner at the Maltings Dental Practice in Grantham and was awarded an MBE for services to dentistry and oral health in 2020. In this episode, Jason talks about his early years in dentistry, his pathway from graduation through to being a partner at the Maltings Dental Practice, a 12-surgery practice with 14-15 clinicians and as many again in the support team, and how he successfully manages a practice of this size given his other roles within dentistry. Jason goes on to talk about the MBE award he received at Buckingham Palace and his recent appointment in dentistry as interim CDO - what the role entails, where it sits within the NHS and who sets the agenda. He outlines some of the key challenges currently being faced, how, as part of his remit as CDO, these are being addressed and how his practice experience is helping him to bring broader insights to the office of the CDO. This is a great episode - if you want to hear more from Jason, take a listen now!   Key topics: -  Early years -  Pathway from graduation to partner -  Secret to managing a practice alongside other roles in dentistry -  Receiving an MBE at Buckingham Palace -  Appointment as interim CDO -  What the role entails -  Current challenges being faced -  Has your practice experience helped you bring broader insights to the office of the CDO? -  Looking ahead -  Your eternal optimism

This week we are delighted to welcome Tif Qureshi as our guest.  Tif is Chairman of the IAS Academy, an International faculty that provides mentored education for general dentists on a pathway from appropriate simple to comprehensive orthodontics, International Speaker, and Pioneer of Align Bleach and Bond.  He is also a past president of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry with a special interest in simple orthodontics and truly minimally invasive dentistry. In this episode, Tif chats to Chris and Andy about why he chose to follow a career in dentistry and what it was like being at dental school in the mid-90’s. He goes on to chat about his career pathway over the years, the highs and lows of being the owner of Dental Elegance in Kent, and his pioneering work of the concept of progressive smile design through Alignment, Bleaching & Bonding. Finally, he talks about his current role as Chairman of the IAS Academy and his goal teaching and empowering fellow dentists.

This week we are joined by Amit Patel, principal at Birmingham Dental Specialists and President of the Association of Dental Implantology. In this episode, Amit chats about his time studying dentistry at the University of Liverpool and his decision to become a specialist periodontist. He reflects on how he started Birmingham Dental Specialists as a squat some 10 years ago now, what drove him to starting his own practice and the time he has spent lecturing across the globe. Finally, Amit talks about his support for the Wells on Wheels charity….from the annual congress dinner of the ADI through to shaving his head after raising an amazing £16k+!!!  Key topics: - Early years - What was it that sparked your interest to study dentistry? - Do you sense there is a desire among younger dentists to make a long-terms commitment in specialist areas? - Starting a squat practice - Lecturing international - Charitable work in support of Wells on Wheels

This week we welcome Dr Martina Hodgson, multi-award-winning dentist, practice owner (The Dental Architect and The Dental Studio) and Invisalign Speaker.   She is also the co-founder of Inspiring Women in Dentistry. In this episode Andy and Chris chat to Martina about her life story, background and what prompted her to follow a career in dentistry.  She talks about her journey from being an associate to buying her first practice and how she has since gone on to open her amazing private practice, The Dental Architect, in Leeds in 2022. She shares advice and top tips for those who are just starting out on a similar ownership journey, talks about her work in orthodontics for the past 12 years and shares more on her dedication and passion to lift up and promote women in dentistry. Martina also shares further information on her upcoming event, ‘The Aligner Launchpad’ that is taking place on 20th October – more information can be found here for those looking to book: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-aligner-launchpad-tickets-674667948997?aff=oddtdtcreator   Topics: -  Tell us about your childhood/background -  Your journey from associate to practice owner -  Working in Orthodontics -  How has this area of dentistry evolved? -  Opening the Dental Architect in 2022 - Advice for those thinking of setting up a practice - Women in Dentistry

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris discuss how a change to your business will always have an impact. They look at how changes such as adding a new surgery, offering more high value treatments in-house or increasing your chair occupancy to name just a few could be ways in which you could double your dental practice value!   To hear more from Chris and Andy, have a listen to this episode.

Mark Topley, founder of Purpose Driven Business and UK dental industry leading authority on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, joins us this week on the podcast. In this episode Mark chats about his early days working as a teacher and how the skills he learnt in teaching have provided invaluable today. He talks about his change of career and how this saw him enter the dental sector, albeit in an interesting way, and his work today helping people to become great leaders and build purpose driven businesses with strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies. He reflects on what this looks like in a dental practice and considers, in his experience, how dentistry compares to the other sectors. Finally, Mark lets us into a secret about his talents within the music world! Topics: - Tell us about your early days working as a teacher - What skills did teaching gift you that have proved to be valuable transferrable skills? - Explain your career move into dentistry - Tell us about your role today helping people become great leaders & build purpose driven businesses - Explain what is meant by a business with strong ESG and CSR strategy? - What does this look like in a dental practice? - How does dentistry compare to other sectors? - Are we in a time where a modern-day business has to create success that positively impacts their stakeholders, the environment, and their wider community?

This week we welcome Suzy Rowlands to the podcast.  Suzy is the Executive Administrator for the BACD (aka the engine that powers the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry). In this episode Chris and Andy chat to Suzy about her childhood and why she chose dentistry as a career.  She talks about her time working at the FDI World Dental Federation back in 1995, how she came to live in France for 18 months because of this job and her experience setting up a wine importing company! Finally, Suzy talks about the BACD - from how she joined back in 2005 when a ‘cosmetic’ focussed association was a pretty new concept, leading on the back-office operations through to how it has evolved and grown into the community it is today.    Topics: - Tell us about your childhood - Did dentistry choose you or did you choose it? - Working at the FDI World Dental Federation - Life in France for 18 months - Running a wine importing company - The BACD: early years - Growth of the BACD and the community today

Saba Arif, founder and CEO of Smart Dental Compliance and Training joins us this week as our guest. In this episode Saba talks about her time studying Biomedical Science at university after initially enrolling onto a dental nursing course and reflects on how she found her way into a career in dentistry by way of a Dental Service Manager role at Bupa managing multiple sites and dealing with compliance. Saba shares more about whether the compliance issues that affect a large corporate provider are the same as for a smaller independently owned practice and goes on to tell us about her decision to start her own business, Smart Dental Compliance, and what the driver was behind the decision to go it alone.  Finally, she chats about what the business looks like today, how the team help dental practice owners and whether the compliance aspects of running a dental practice really are getting more and more complex today. Topics: - Back to the beginning – growing up/childhood - Did you ever consider dentistry as a career? - Are the compliance issues that affect a large corporate the same as for a small, independent practice? - The trigger to start your own business? - Would you do it again? - How does Smart Dental Compliance help practice owners? - Are the compliance aspects of running a dental practice getting more complex?