In this special episode of the Dentology Podcast, hosts Andy and Chris discuss marketing principles.

They explore some of the key marketing factors every business should have in place, in particular branding and communications.

Throughout the discussion, Andy and Chris consider a arrange of questions such as:

• How do you want to position your practice?

• Do you know what you want to achieve?

• Does your brand reflect this?

• How do you communicate this to your team? And your patients?

• What messages are you communicating?

For invaluable insights into these key marketing principles that need to be aligned to grow your practice and more, tune in to this episode to hear from Chris and Andy.

**This special episode of Dentology has been brought to you in partnership with Ultimate Dental Business – the ultimate dental business hub, offering top-tier business training for dentists.**

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Julie Dale, dentist and Global Sales Manager at Boutique Whitening.

Julie talks about her dental career and how a short spell of work experience prompted her to decide that dentistry was for her.

She chats about her time working in the NHS for some 14 years after qualifying, shares some of the highs and lows from this time and talks us through the steps she went through before deciding that there were other career opportunities in dentistry aside from the clinical work.

She talks about her short stint at Dental Monitoring and how from there, moved on to work at Boutique Whitening and is now looking after global sales for the company.

She shares her thoughts on whether whitening can be used as a practice/profit builder and talks about future plans for Boutique outside of the UK.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early career days

- How did work experience help you decide that dentistry was for you?

- Where did you qualify from and was your dental school experience good?

- Working in the NHS – what were some of the highs and lows?

- What steps did you go through to decide on a career away from the clinical work?

- Did Covid create the reflection time to consider a new path?

- Working at Dental Monitoring

- Taking on the role of global sales at Boutique Whitening

- Can whitening be used as a practice/profit builder?

- Are there any global plans for Boutique outside of the UK?

This week Andy and Chris are joined by Murray Welch, Sales and Marketing Director at Anglian Dental, surgery design and equipment suppliers.

In this episode, Murray talks about the family business his grandfather started over 30 years ago and his decision to officially join the team back in 2012.

He talks about the charity work he is involved with for the Rapid Relief Team and how this saw him support the fire crews on the fateful day of the Grenfell Tower Disaster.

He reflects on how much dental engineering has changed over the past 15 years or so and how the company has evolved today to also offer build and design services alongside equipment supply and servicing.

He talks about some of the projects his team have been involved with, explains more about some of the challenges they often face, especially during refurbishment projects or when working with clients to set up new squat practices, and shares his top tips for anyone thinking about taking this route for practice ownership.

Topics:

- Your charity work with the Rapid Relief Team

- Tell us about the family business

- Joining the business in 2012

- Has dental engineering changed much over the past 15 years

- What other services does Anglian now offer?

- Why did you branch out into the building/design side of things?

- Tell us about some of the projects you’ve worked on.

- What are the hidden problems when you take on projects?

- What are some of the pros and cons of looking after refurbishments and squats?

- Any top tips for anyone considering a squat practice?

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Ahmad Nounu, principal of the Black Swan Dental Spa and Bristol Dental Suite.

Ahmad chats about his early career days, the reasons why he decided to pursue a career in dentistry and buying his first dental practice back in 2011, just 3 years after qualifying! He talks about how he has fully embraced digital technology in the practice, the influences that affected his decisions to adopt this approach and the impact it has had on efficiency.

He goes on to talk about his decision to take over a failing corporate practice during the Covid lockdown period back in 2020 and what he has done differently to ensure that practice is now thriving.

Finally, he chats about the private dental education programme, Private Dental Mentor, that he is a course director for which is designed to ensure associates have everything they need to quickly thrive in private practice.

Topics:

- Your early career days and decision to follow a career in dentistry

- Buying your first dental practice

- Was there a conscious plan to become a principal swiftly?

- How significant was your studying in the USA in developing your practice?

- Did you have an approach to CPD that covered both business and clinical learning?

- Describe your practice and the inspiration for it

- Your reasons for embracing digital technology in your practice

- How has this impacted the efficiency of running a dental practice?

- Why did you decide to take over a failing corporate practice?

- What have you done differently to ensure the practice thrives?

- The Private Dental Mentor Programme

Our guest on Dentology this week is Pav Khaira, dentist, and CEO of the Academy of Implant Excellence.

In this episode, Pav talks about his time at dental school, his early career days and working as an associate.

He goes on to explain about the extensive training he has undertaken in prosthodontics and his focus on implants that has resulted in him being referred to as ‘The Titani-Nerd’, the Chat GPT of implants and the Wikipedia of Implantology!

He explains what drew him towards this element of dentistry and shares his thoughts on how he thinks the world of implants has progressed.

He goes on to talk about his current clinical work and his role as the CEO of the Academy of Implant Excellence. He discusses the approach the UK has taken to implants and explains about some of the common hurdles that you come up against when focussing on implants and the methodology used to manage this.

Topics:

- Early career days

- Were there other options beyond dentistry?

- Your time at dental school

- How did your dental career start?

- Your training in prosthodontics and implants

- What drew you in to this element of dentistry?

- How far into the evolution of digital dentistry has the world of implants got so far?

- The Academy of Implant Excellence: Why did this come about and who is it aimed at?

- Has the UK adopted a different approach to implants?

- Are there common hurdles that come up when focussing on implants?

- Is there a proven methodology to managing this?

Dr Mahrukh Khwaja, founder and CEO of Mind Ninja, joins us again this week and chats to Chris and Andy about her recent work.

She talks about her book ‘Resilience and Well-Being for Dental Professionals’ and shares more about how she now spends her time working 2 clinical days a week alongside managing her many other projects.

She explains more about her recent studies for a diploma in organisational psychology and gives an update on Mind Ninja, the well-being startup providing resilience and well-being training to dental professionals so they can thrive in any environment.

Finally, she talks about the resilience programme she’s currently facilitating for NHS Health Education Midlands and her ‘Mission Mindful’ campaign.

Topics:

- Your book ‘Resilience and Well-Being for Dental Professionals’

- How do you split your time?

- Does working 2 clinical days per week help you stay empathetic to the needs of dentists who can find clinical work burdensome?

- Diploma in Organisational Psychology

- How is Mind Ninja going?

- Is there a shift towards the importance of building resilience?

- Tell us about the Mission Mindful campaign

- Do your toolkits easily transfer into other sectors?

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Gary Chapman, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for the UK & Europe at Portman Dentex.

Having started his career in dentistry over 40 years ago, Gary talks about his early career years, considers what the sector was like back in the 1980’s compared to now and reflects on how dentistry has changed during this time.

He talks about the many different roles he’s been fortunate enough to work in from starting out as a lab technician and running a dental implant company, through to driving the Acquisition Programme at James Hull Associates, leading the growth of the Portman Group, and his more recent role working alongside CEO Sam Waley-Cohen to drive the mergers and acquisitions division at Portman Dentex that has seen the group acquire over 430+ private and specialist practices to date.

Finally, Gary shares his thoughts on dentistry moving forward, considers whether the landscape for dental corporates is changing and lets us into a secret about his skills on the badminton court!

To hear more from one of the leading authorities on the Corporate Private Dental Market, have a listen to this episode.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early years

- Being in dentistry for over 40 years

- What was dentistry like back in the 1980’s?

- Tell us about your varied career and the many roles you’ve worked in

- Has dentistry changed during your career?

- Your early involvement in implants and running a dental implant company

- Involvement in the James Hull Associates buyout

- Driving the Acquisitions Programme and growth of the Portman Group

- Working alongside CEO Sam Waley-Cohen

- Is the landscape for dental corporates changing?

- Has the competitive nature in sport helped you be so successful in business?

In this episode of the Dentology Podcast, hosts Andy and Chris delve into the realm of Business Fundamentals.

They explore the essential factors crucial for business success, emphasising the importance of dental practice owners operating their practices with a business mindset.

Throughout the discussion, Andy and Chris pose key questions that practice owners should ponder:

• How is your business organised?

• Have you assessed your practice's structure?

• Is your team fully aware of the organisational structure?

• Have all roles and responsibilities been clearly defined and understood?

• Is every team member contributing to the advancement of the business?

• Does your team know where to seek guidance?

For invaluable insights into these critical business fundamentals and more, tune in to this episode to hear from Chris and Andy.

**This special episode of Dentology has been brought to you in partnership with Ultimate Dental Business – the ultimate dental business hub, offering top-tier business training for dentists.**

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Paul Abrahams, Owner of SmileMore Dental Care for over 30 years!

Paul talks about his time spent studying dentistry at Guys, his early career days working as an associate and his bold decision to set up a squat dental practice in 1993. He reflects on the challenges faced at the time and how shares his thoughts and opinions on how he feels the people in dentistry and the technology used have changed over the decades.

He also talks about well-being in the profession and also the business side of dentistry that is now considered a non-negotiable to running a successful practice.

He goes on to chat about his decision to sell to Dentex, now part of the Portman Dentex Group, five years ago and explains about his new pattern of working now because of this.

Finally, he goes on to share a few top tips gained from his wealth of experience in dentistry and considers if there are any learnings from team sports to managing a dental team.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early career & qualifying from Guys in 1989

- Setting up a squat practice in 1993

- Owning SmileMore Dental Care for over 30 years

- What were the challenges faced back then?

- What are you thoughts on how the people in dentistry have changed over the decades?

- What about the change in technology?

- Well-being in the profession

- The business side of dentistry – is this a non-negotiable to running a successful practice?

- The decision to sell to Dentex

- Your new pattern of working

- What’s one thing you’ve figured out that most others probably haven’t from your wealth of experience in dentistry?

- Any learning from team sports to managing a dental team?

Our guest this week on Dentology is Tom Chaston, co-founder of AllMedPro, experts in dental indemnity insurance.

In this episode, Tom chats to Chris and Andy about his early career and how he started his own insurance brokerage alongside Adam, his business partner, at the age of 24. He explains about the key challenges faced at the time when starting out in business, reflects on what he would do differently today and discusses some of the highs and lows faced to date.

He goes on to talk about his current work leading AllMedPro, a well-known name within dentistry, the services offered to the profession, and the decision to take on a VC backer in 2021 and what this has since enabled the company to do. Finally, Tom explains what the 3 core policies are that dentists should have as a minimum.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early career

- What have you learnt from your involvement in sport that has helped you in business?

- Starting your own insurance brokerage at 24 years old

- What were the key challenges starting a business?

- What would you do differently today?

- What’s the toughest thing you’ve been through & what impact did it have on your life?

- AllMedPro: what services are offered to the profession?

- Taking on a VC backer in 2021 & what has this enabled you to do?

- Are dentists good at keeping themselves well covered/protected?

- Aside from PI, what are the 3 core policies dentists should have as a minimum?

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Michael Alatsaris.

Michael is a dentist and founder of Ergoprox, the world’s first toothbrush designed for teeth next to dentures and large gaps.

In this episode, Michael chats about his early career, what drove him to study dentistry and his time spent as a dental practice owner running a private practice for some 9 years before he decided to sell up.

At this point, Michael’s career ‘took off’ in a completely different direction as he became a pilot and from there, he also took time to focus on his passion for product design which resulted in the development of the Ergoprox Toothbrush.

Michael talks about Ergoprox, the approach he took to bringing a new product to the market and how the business has grown to date with the toothbrush now generally available in dental practices across the UK.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early career

- What drove you to study dentistry

- Did dental school equip you well for being a dentist?

- Being a practice owner

- Why did you decide to sell your practice?

- Being an airline pilot

- Foscusing on product design

- The launch of Ergoprox

- What is the Ergoprox Toothbrush and what problem does it solve?

- How big is education when designing innovative products like this?

- Is the toothbrush now a generally available product in the UK?

- Would you change anything about your career to date?

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Fiona Dwyer, journalist and former television reporter and planning producer with over 30 years of experience in the media.

In this episode Fiona talks about her childhood and career to date and shares some of the experiences she’s had working in the media industry for the past 30+ years.

She talks about how her career started, reflects on how the industry has changed over the years and talks about some of the famous stars she has had the opportunity to meet and interview. She also shares some top tips on what makes a good news story!

Finally, she talks about her work within the dental sector, how PR is important for dental practices and how she has been working on The Magic Dentist campaign.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early career

- How did your media career start and what was it like back in those days?

- Who have you interviewed? What were they like?

- Are there general principles from being good journalist that we can all build into our lives?

- Does this require a certain personality type to do this?

- Is it a world of smoke and mirrors to get into the press of are there some top tips for doing this yourself?

- What is newsworthy?

- Is PR for dental practices more important than ever with Google reviews being focused on and the new CQC single assessment framework being very patient-focused?

- Working on The Magic Dentist campaign

- If you can take only one learning from your entrepreneurial journey- what is it?

In this week’s episode of Dentology, Chris and Andy chat to Rachel Derby, co-principal of Chapel Dental Cosmetic and Implant Centre in High Wycombe.

Rachel is also President Elect of the British Association of Private Dentistry (BAPD) and a multi award winning dentist with over a decade of experience as a general dentist.

She chats about her experience at Manchester dental school, her early career days working in the NHS for some 7 years and the reasons why, in 2017, she decided to focus purely on private dentistry.

She goes on to talk about her ambition to be a practice owner, her experience being a first-time buyer and reflects on some of the highs and lows of practice ownership so far.

Finally, she chats about her role as the President Elect of the BAPD, what the role entails and what plans she has for her period of presidency.

Topics:

- Tell us about your early years

- Your experience at dental school; was it all that you hoped it would be?

- Working in the NHS for 7 years – did you enjoy this time and did it help hone your skills?

- Why did you decide to focus on purely private in 2017?

- Did you always have an ambition to be a practice owner?

- Your experience as a first-time buyer

- What’s been the easiest and hardest part of practice ownership?

- Did you feel equipped for the non-clinical aspects of running a business?

- BAPD; what are the big plans for your period of presidency?

In this latest episode of Dentology, Andy and Chris chat to Sonayna Chandran.

Sonayna is a dentist and lifestyle/body coach.

In this episode she talks about her childhood, her decision to study dentistry, the time spent at dental school and how she was determined to qualify.

Sonayna chats about her early days working as a qualified dentist and how the Covid pandemic provided her with an opportunity to reset and refocus on her own personal development – the key to which has been reaching out and gaining support.

She goes on to share insights on some of the support she received and explains how she now works one clinical day and uses the rest of the time to focus on her online health/lifestyle business.

Finally, she shares several time management strategies, each contributing to her own ability to balance her clinical responsibilities, business, home renovation project and impending motherhood.

Topics:

- Was dentistry always in the stars for you?

- Which dental school did you attend?

- Was dental school tough?

- Do you feel that developing a tenacity and resilience to qualify was a good thing?

- Do you remember your first (unsupervised) patient?

- What was your work pattern like pre-Covid?

- How did Covid provide you with an opportunity to reset?

- What sort of support did you get to help?

- What does your health and lifestyle look like for clients?

- Is this an area that the dental profession naturally lean into?

- Why are we so bad at prioritising our own wellbeing?

- Any time management tips?

This week Chris and Andy chat with Brad Thornton, Principal of Ivory Dental Practice in Leeds and serial entrepreneur and investor.

Brad is no stranger to the Dentology podcast, having been a guest back in November 2021.

In this latest episode he chats about entrepreneurship and balancing the need to stay at the forefront of clinical dentistry alongside developing broader business skills.

He shares his thoughts and advice on the importance of investing in non-clinical learning for both personal and business development.

And finally, he talks about his recent achievement completing an MBA from the prestigious University College London, how this has supported him as a dental business owner and gives his top tips to anyone planning to buy a practice who may need to develop skills in this area.

Topics:

- How do you define entrepreneurship?

- How do you balance the need to ensure you stay at the forefront of clinical dentistry but also develop broader business skills?

- Does a lack of business competence make owning and running a practice more stressful?

- Why is investment in non-clinical learning important for your personal and business development?

- Your MBA achievement

- How has this supported you in your role as practice owner?

- Any advice for those looking to buy a dental practice who feel they need to develop in this area?

- What are the most important skills for an entrepreneur to have?

This week Chris and Andy had the pleasure of chatting to Abhi Krishna, CEO of Carestack, the dental Practice Management Software company that has recently entered the UK market.

In this episode, Abhi talks about his childhood and growing up in India, his career and entrepreneurial journey and the stepping stones that led him to where he is now operating in the hi-tech and commercial world of the west.

He tells us more about Carestack, the problem it fixes in the UK dental sector and background to the strong company culture and vision.

He also talks about the new tech such as AI that Carestack is harnessing to allow dentists to run more efficient dental practices, how clients (aka ‘partners’) are helping to develop the business and what he believes the future holds for Carestack.

Topics:

- Tell us about your childhood in India

- Your career journey & the stepping stones that led you to where you are today

- Carestack – what problem does it fix?

- The vision and culture of the business

- How is Carestack harnessing new tech to allow dentists to run more efficient dental practices?

- How do your clients (partners) help develop Carestack?

- What is imperfectly perfect?

- Why are you impatient?

- What one day in your life would you like to re-live?

- What does the future hold for Carestack?

- What does success look like for you?

- One learning from your entrepreneurial journey

This week’s guest is Simon Thackeray, Principal and Clinical Director of Thackeray Dental Care in Mansfield and Secretary of the British Association of Private Dentistry (BAPD).

In this episode Simon chats about his childhood, the reasons why he decided to pursue a career in dentistry and talks about life as a practice owner having been running his own practice for some 27 years now.

Simon talks about why he decided to go fully private back in 2005, reflects on how since then, his practice has expanded and shares some of the learnings from his entrepreneurial journey.

He reflects on some of the key moments in his career where he’s seized opportunities, including his involvement in setting up the BAPD a few years ago.

Finally, he shares his thoughts on the future of dentistry, what things he would like to see change and how he feels social media could play a key role to advance the profession.

Topics:

- Tell us about your childhood and school years

- Was dentistry always a calling for you from a young age?

- Life as a practice owner

- Your decision to go fully private back in 2005

- Your learnings from your entrepreneurial journey

- Any key moments where you took opportunities?

- Your involvement in setting up the BAPD

- What are your thoughts for the future of dentistry?

- What one thing would you like to see change?

- How do you see social media advancing the profession?

This week Andy and Chris welcome Lucie Simic to the Dentology Podcast.

Lucie is a well-known dental business consultant, trainer and speaker and has worked in the dental industry for nearly a decade, helping practices increase their turnover and deliver exceptional customer experience with five-star service.

In this episode she chats about her early career days working in journalism before moving over to work as a practice manager before moving on to undertake consultancy work with practices around the UK supporting them on their own journey.

Lucie shares her thoughts on how the role of a practice manager has changed over the years, how she feels the mood in dentistry is at present and considers the key things she believes practices need to focus on in 2024 to thrive.

Topics:

- Tell us about your childhood and your early career days as a broadcast and newspaper journalist

- What did these industries teach you that’s proved to valuable transferable skills?

- Your first role in dentistry as a Practice Manager

- How has this role since changed?

- How do you gauge the mood in dentistry at present?

- What is the key thing practices need to focus on in 2024 to thrive?

Our guest this week is Ritesh (Rick) Aggarwal, Principal dentist of Edge Dental in Sheffield and co-founder of Psynergy Mental Health, a business dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being culture of organisations.

In this episode he looks back on his early years and what his inspiration was for becoming a dentist. He talks about the years he spent studying dentistry in Sheffield and how this time influenced his career path.

He goes on to explain more about his pathway to practice ownership and his ambitions to be a principal, as well as how he has created a positive culture within in his practice and how in part, this has led him to develop Psynergy Mental Health.

Finally, he tells Chris and Andy more about the links between a positive culture and mental health and the ways in which culture can be improved through a data driven approach.

Topics:

- Your early years

- What was your inspiration for becoming a dentist?

- What was it like to study in Sheffield?

- Tell us about your career pathway to practice ownership

- How have you created a positive culture in your practice?

- Development of Psynergy Mental Health

- Is there a link between a positive culture and mental health?

- Can culture be improved through a data driven approach?

This week we’re joined by Ashely Latter, author and experienced business trainer/coach.

Ashley has delivered over 34,000 hours of business coaching to the dental industry all over the world by coaching and developing their key salespeople and working with teams to develop sales and communication skills.

In this episode, Ashley talks about his early career and how he started working with dentists.

He reflects on his work as an author and in particular, proven techniques to discuss fees with self-confidence and sell dentistry ethically.

He shares key learnings from his entrepreneurial journey, talks about how the UK compares in terms of non-clinical aspects, and tells Chris and Andy more about his most recent book ‘The Practice Manager: Jugglers’ and how he believes the role of a Practice Manager has evolved today.

Topics:

- Insights to your childhood and upbringing

- Delivering your programme in 16 countries world-wide

- Techniques to discuss fees with self-confidence

- How to sell dentistry ethically?

- Key learnings from your entrepreneurial journey

- How does the UK compare?

- Your most recent book

- How has the role of a Practice Manager evolved?