This week in the Dentology podcast, Andy and Chris talk to Simon Reynolds, Managing Director of Patient Plan Direct Ltd, the UK’s leading dental plan provider.

Simon tells us about his childhood and his time studying Sports Technology at university and reflects on his early days in business. He goes on to talk about his pathway into the dental world and how he stepped into the role of MD at Patient Plan Direct at the start of this year.

With inevitable changes coming with NHS dentistry, Simon talks about the impact covid has had on Patient Plan Direct clients, how practices have adapted and changed and shares his thoughts for the future of NHS dentistry.

Have a listen to this episode to hear more from Simon.

Topics:

- Childhood and pathway into dentistry

- Cross over of key traits and characteristics from sport to business

- Taking on the role of MD at Patient Plan Direct Ltd

- What’s been the impact of covid for existing clients?

- Has covid changed the typical practice worked with?

- Predictions for the future of NHS dentistry

Andy and Chris chat to Laura Hannon, General Manager of the BDA Benevolent Fund (BDABF), in this week’s episode of the Dentology Podcast.

The BDABF is a charity organisation, established in 1883, that supports dental students, dentists and their families living in the UK.

In this episode, Laura tells Chris and Andy more about the survey conducted between October and November 2021 to explore the financial and well-being issues facing UK dental students and she explains why the charity wanted to undertake such research and what some of the key findings indicate for the sector.

To hear more on the survey results and how the BDABF is supporting students in the profession, have a listen to this episode.

Topics:

• Explain the background to the latest survey

• Is it a new initiative for the BDABF?

• Key findings from the survey

• Is the Covid experience of students likely to have influenced thoughts about dropping out?

• How did those with money worries cope?

• What support is available through the BDABF?

• Is working alongside studying at dental school a good thing?

• The importance of asking for well-being help

• How can the BDABF help students and the wider profession?

More information is also available online on the BDABF Student Page

If you need to apply for financial assistance from the BDABF – click here.

Further information about well-being support can be found here.

Click here to donate directly to the BDABF.

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris talk through the common pitfalls of a dental practice sale. If you are selling, this is not a time to learn and plan to get it right next round. For most, this is a one-shot opportunity so you need to get it right. This is a great episode, with lots of great advice for practice owners embarking on the sale journey. To find out more, have a listen to this episode.

Topics:

- Selling up

- The most common pitfalls of a dental practice sale

- Should you pay a fee?

- The importance of working with experts

- Comparables

- The Open Market vs Preferred Buyers?

- Getting a Valuation

Andy and Chris chat to Dr Dev Patel in this week’s episode of Dentology. Dev is a qualified dentist and founder and CEO at Dental Beauty Partners, as well as founder of Dental Circle, the training network for dental professionals.

In this episode, Dev reflects on his early days and tells us about his years growing up, training as a dentist and the moment when he first decided to take the step from clinical dentistry into business leadership, and ultimately group ownership. He also tells us about his remarkable success with his business ventures, in particular Dental Beauty Partners, and what makes him different!

Dev’s story is a great listen for anyone looking for inspiration and motivation to take the leap in their career!

Topics:

- What was your childhood like?

- Was there anyone with entrepreneurial experience in your family for you to learn from?

- Was there a specific moment when your mindset shifted from dentist to group ownership?

- When did you commit to stepping away from clinical dentistry?

- Tell us about your management style

- Have your other ventures helped develop Dental Beauty Group?

- Who inspires you as a business leader?

- What’s the future for Dental Beauty Partners?

This week’s guest on the Dentology Podcast is Manhar Segal, dentist, car enthusiast and ex-principal of Millenium Dentistry in Staffordshire, having recently sold the practice with the help of Frank Taylor & Associates.

In this episode, Manhar recounts his early upbringing and tells us what prompted his decision to start a career in dentistry. Having studied at Guys with several others who are currently leading the way in dentistry, Manhar reflects on what life was like at that time and how he moved from qualifying to becoming a dental practice owner alongside his wife, Aradhna.

Having now sold his practice, Manhar chats about the reasons for the sale and gives us a true insight into what the sales process was really like – something that many of our listeners may one day be going through themselves!

Topics:

- What was your upbringing like?

- Did it feel like you were part of special group at dental school?

- Timeline from qualifying to practice ownership

- The motivation to be a practice owner

- Had you worked alongside your wife previously?

- What was the driver to sell?

- Your experience of the sales process & working with Frank Taylor & Associates

- What’s next?

This week we welcome Dr Mahrukh Khwaja to the Dentology podcast.

Mahrukh is founder and CEO of Mind Ninja; a well-being startup providing resilience and well-being training to dental professionals so they can thrive in any environment. She is also a dentist, with over 11 years’ clinical experience, a positive psychologist, an accredited mindfulness teacher and holds a masters in applied positive psychology.

In this episode, Mahrukh shares her story with us and discusses why she got into dentistry. She talks openly about mental health, explains how we should all manage our mental health better and tells us what she hopes to create in the future to support dental professionals.

Topics:

- The early days…what were you like as a child?

- Why were you drawn to dentistry?

- Why did you feel there was a need for a well-being service for dentists?

- Based on your experience, is this something dentists struggle with?

- Mental health crisis

- Does mental health and well-being discriminate based on sex?

- New book: release date summer 2022 (“Resilience and Well-being for Dental Professionals”)

Our guest this week on Dentology is Dr Nilesh Parmar, partner at Parmar Dental. Nilesh has a specialist interest in implant dentistry and successfully splits his time between his seven-surgery practice in Southend-On-Sea and a multi-disciplinary practice in Blackheath.

Nilesh is a well-known figure in dentistry having won numerous awards and is an avid sharer of his exploits and work across social media.

In this episode, Nilesh recounts his transition from working in his father’s dental practice to dental school before settling on a career in implantology. One of a few dentists in the UK to have a degree from all three London Dental Schools, education is important to Nilesh and having recently completed his Executive MBA at Imperial College Business School, he talks about the importance of business training and education for dental professionals.

Outside of dentistry, Nilesh loves fast cars and racing and tells us more about his adventures on the track!

Topics:

- Setting the scene & journey into dentistry

- What was dental school like?

- Is dentistry heading towards more specialisms?

- Could we see GDPs providing more triage services?

- Using social media to showcase work and case studies

- Is business training important?

- What does success look like for you?

This week we welcome Mide Ojo to the Dentology podcast.

Mide is the principal and owner of Refresh Dental based in Twickenham, co-founder of the revolutionary smile design service, SmileFast, and founder of the successful Start Up Dental Practice Owners Facebook group.

In this episode Mide tells us more about his exciting journey into practice ownership and the reasons why he decided to start his own practice from a squat rather than buying an existing practice - a viable way to get into practice ownership but one that does require a different approach.

Mide also tells Chris and Andy more about the Start Up in Dentistry Live Event coming up in June that he’s organising that sees the successful Facebook group going from a social platform to an actual live event!

Topics:

- Upbringing and pathway into dentistry

- Squat vs existing practice ownership?

- Challenges faced starting a squat practice?

- Why did you set up the Facebook group?

- Who is the Live Event for and what will the day include?

Welcome to Dr Manrina Rhode, well-known Aesthetic Dental Surgeon in the dental world. In this episode Manrina chats to Chris and Andy about her pathway onto the dental circuit. She shares her story on how she has worked her way to the top building her business and brand and reveals more about what drives her forward in her career.

To hear more about Manrina, have a listen to this episode.

Topics:

• Your pathway into dentistry

• Your career to date

• Do you find it easy to relax outside of work?

• The importance of communication skills

• Wellbeing

• The development of you DRMR skincare range

• How has social media helped build your brand/business?

• Your journey into ownership

• Are you always on the go and looking for new opportunities?

• Your advice to students/young dentists?

• Are you enjoying the journey?

Our guest this week on Dentology is Ricky Adams. Having graduated from Kings College in 2008, Ricky followed in the steps of his father (also a dentist) and became a practice owner early on in his career with a focus on cosmetic dentistry.

Having now sold his dental practice, Ricky tells us more about his reasons for selling and shares his story on how the practice sales process was for him – something we’re sure many of our listeners will be keen to hear more on as they will no doubt be in the same boat at some point in their careers.

Enjoy!

Topics:

• Tell us about your upbringing

• Did your father (a dentist) influence your career choice?

• The timeline from qualifying to becoming a practice owner

• What was your motivation to be a practice owner?

• What was the driver to sell?

• The sales process from your perspective

• Mind, body and soul is important to you – has this always been the case?

• What’s next?

Andy and Chris chat to Sameer Patel in this week’s episode of Dentology.

Sameer is the Clinical Director and co-founder at Elleven Dental and creator of the Elite Dental Leadership Program.

In this episode Sameer shares his story with us from his early days in dental school through to business ownership today.

We also hear more about his passion for cricket and how his enthusiasm and love for the sport has influenced his decisions in life.

Topics:

• Setting the scene – what was life like for you growing up?

• Were you always destined to join the dental profession?

• The move from Associate to Practice Owner

• Is business teaching sufficient at dental school?

• The crossover from sport to business

• The inspiration for the Elite Dental Leadership program

• How do you balance family and business?

This week’s guest on the Dentology Podcast is dentistry’s very own media mogul, Ken Finlayson. Ken is Chairman and Owner of FMC Ltd, the well-known dental communications group.

In this episode, Ken chats to Chris and Andy about his early days in business ownership, the growth of FMC over the years and shares insight on the Dentistry Top 50. He also reflects on the journey he’s taken to date and talks openly about the tragic loss of his beloved wife just two years ago. And for those that don’t know, Ken has also recently just successfully completed an amazing fundraising challenge that saw him reach the dizzy heights at the top of Kilimanjaro – an incredible achievement that we can’t wait to hear more about!

Have a listen to this episode to hear more on Ken’s story.

Topics:

• The early years

• Entrepreneurship – is this just an instinct or have family/mentors guided you?

• The growth of FMC

• A tragic loss & how you have coped

• The climb – what was the experience like?

• Has the experience changed you or your outlook?

• Fundraising for Dentaid

• Dentistry Top 50 – what’s involved? How is it judged?

• What’s the most important thing that has helped your success?

Andy and Chris talk to Payman Langroudi in this week’s episode of Dentology. Payman is a dentist, clinical director at Enlighten Smiles (the UK’s premier whitening company) and host on the Dental Leaders podcast so this is a great opportunity for him to be on the other side of the mic! In this episode, Payman tells us more about his journey within dentistry, shares business tips and gives us his thoughts on where the market is heading in the future. To hear more about Payman, have a listen to this episode.

With employment and HR always a ‘hot’ topic for discussion, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to chat to Sarah Buxton, Director and Solicitor at FTA Law, in this week’s episode of the Dentology Podcast. Sarah tells us more about her work as a solicitor, reflects on the challenges and hurdles the legal sector has faced over the past couple of years and shares the secrets to her success! This episode is a great listen and one not to be missed.

In this week’s episode of Dentology we go “across the pond” as Andy and Chris chat to Emmet Scott, Co-Founder and CEO of Community Dental Partners and bestselling author of “DSO Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Dental Empire”. Emmet gives us an insight into how the dental market operates over in the USA, how dentists are supported in their journey from dental school through to business ownership and how things have changed as a result of the pandemic. To find out more and hear Emmet’s story, have a listen to this episode.

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris share their thoughts on the dental market and discuss current demand and how whether goodwill values have changed. To find out more, have a listen to this episode.

This week in the Dentology Podcast, Andy and Chris chat to Tracy Stuart, successful dental business coach. Tracy shares the remarkable story of her own personal development and growth over the past few years and talks about the different motivations for change, both personally and in business. To find out more about Tracy’s story, have a listen to this episode.

Andy and Chris talk to Emma Anastasi in the latest episode of Dentology. Emma is the founding director of Diamond Dental Staff a dental business consultancy and recruitment business. In this episode Emma reflects on her journey so far within dentistry, shares more on how she got to where she is now and gives us an insight into her work and business today. To hear more about Emma’s beliefs on why “people really are your business”, have a listen to this episode.

In the lastest episode of Dentology Chris and Andy talk to Henry Strevens, Business Manager at Frank Taylor & Associates (FTA). Henry has worked at FTA for a number of years and in this episode he shares his tips for associates looking to take the next step in their careers and how best to stand out from the crowd as a buyer.

This week in the Dentology Podcast Andy and Chris chat to Nigel Risner. Nigel is an inspirational speaker and author, best known for his book "It’s a Zoo Around Here" which focuses on the concept of identifying different character traits we each have as individuals and how these can be represented as different animals. A truly interesting concept! To find out more about this and Nigel’s story, have a listen to this episode.