The Business of Dentistry

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 an airline 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?