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 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?

This week Andy and Chris chat to Jonathan Webster, Managing Director of World of Mouth Marketing, a telemarketing business working solely with UK dental practices and dental groups.

In this episode, Jonathan chats about his early career days, how he started working in the world of direct marketing and telemarketing some 25 years ago and how this marketing approach has changed over the years.

He talks about some of the global brands he has worked with during his career, shares his experience on how global brands differ from local businesses in terms of market positioning and considers if it is more complex today as a result of all the marketing channels available to us.

Finally, he shares more about the services offered by World of Mouth Marketing to UK dental practices and explains how this can make a big difference to a practice!

Topics:

- Your early work career and experience

- Was direct marketing a different world when you started some 25 years ago?

- How do global brands differ from local businesses for market positioning?

- Has it got more complex today?

- Explain more about the services offered by World of Marketing

- How does this make a difference to a dental practice?

Our guest on the podcast this week is Dr Bobby Bhandal, founder of Avenue Dental Practice in Leamington Spa.

Bobby obtained his bachelor’s in dental surgery from the University of Birmingham in 2013 and is passionate about postgraduate education and training. After university, he worked as an associate for approximately eight years, during which time he developed a specialist interest in implants and completed two years of dental implant training at the Campbell Academy.

In this episode he talks about those early career years and what drove him to move on from being an associate to designing his own squat practice.

He tells Chris and Andy about some of the highs and lows of his first year as a practice owner and explains about the course he now runs supporting others looking to follow a similar path.

Topics:

- Tell us about your time at Birmingham Dental School and your graduation in 2013

- Working as an associate and your specialist implant training

- Why did you move on?

- What led you to design your own squat?

- Almost one year on….how is it going?

- What are the non-clinical traits others would need to do something similar?

- Explain more about how you now help others follow a similar path

- What are the hard truths about owning a practice that associates might not understand?

This week we welcome Dr Christina Radics to the Dentology Podcast.

Christina is a Transformational Coach for dentists and dental professionals and a former practice owner.

Having started her dental journey in the early 2000’s, Christina talks to Chris and Andy about qualifying as a dentist in Sweden and her time at dental school before she decided to make the move to Spain to run her own practice.

She talks openly about her experience as a practice owner, the impact ownership had on her own wellbeing and how this led to two periods of burnout, all of which prompted her to change her life and sell her practice.

She shares some great tips on how others in similar situations can prevent burnout and shares her experience and insights on when it’s the right time to sell a dental practice.

Topics:

- Tell us more about your early dental career

- Did you get lots of hands-on experience at dental school?

- What was your motivation to live in Spain?

- How did practice ownership impact your own wellbeing?

- What was the build up to your periods of burnout?

- What prompted you change your life and sell your practice?

- Any tips for others on how to prevent burnout?

- Any insights for others on when to sell a practice?

Andy and Chris are joined this week by Dr Suganthan Mahalingam, a general dentist based in the London and Hertfordshire area.

In this episode, Suganthan talks about his work offering both NHS and private services to patients and his passion for writing.

He reflects on his childhood and how he decided on a career in dentistry despite always being more interested in words than numbers and science at school.

And he goes on to talk about his passion for writing, shares his views on how the recent explosion of AI will influence copywriting going forward and explains more about the writing he loves to do that ranges from marketing messages to poetry and song lyrics!

Topics:

- Tell us about your childhood

- How did you decide on a career in dentistry?

- Explain more about your day to day work in a mixed practice in Hertfordshire

- What sort of writing interests you?

- The explosion of AI as a copywriting tool

- What sort of writing do you do?

- Within dentistry, is copywriting given the attention it deserves?

Andy and Chris are joined on the podcast this week by Dr Tilly Houston, general and cosmetic dentist and networker extraordinaire!

In this episode, Tilly talks about her family upbringing, her decision to become a dentist and her experience at dental school having only graduated from Bristol University in 2020.

She chats her involvement with the BACD and how thanks to this and the power of networking, she is now busy working across three different dental practices.

Finally, she goes on to talk about how she remains focused on adding to her still stack with courses and CPD and discusses the importance of communication when building a dental career.

Topics:

- Tell us about your family upbringing and decision to become a dentist

- Your experience at dental school

- Your involvement with the BACD

- Current roles working across 3 practices

- Building a strong network

- Courses and CPD

- The importance of communication when building a dental career

Our guest on Dentology this week is George Dandanov, dentist and founder of Smile Wide Ltd, a digital technology design company offering a high-quality and bespoke digital design service to dentists and dental professionals all across the UK and beyond.

In this episode George chats to Andy and Chris about his early career, having qualified as a dentist in Ukraine, moving to the UK and why he chose to settle in Newcastle.

He talks about his decision to set up his company, Smile Wide Ltd, during the covid lockdown, how this has grown over past few years and the work the company is now doing helping other dentists to achieve the results they want with their patients.

Finally, he goes on to talk about his plans for the future, where he sees his career progressing in the future and what’s next on the radar in terms of digital innovations!

Topics:

- Your early years

- Qualifying as a dentist in Ukraine

- Moving to the UK and settling in Newcastle

- Founding Smile Wide Ltd

- Explain how the company helps other dentists achieve results

- What’s next?

- Any plans for the future?

Happy New Year from Andy & Chris and the Dentology podcast team!

Merry Christmas from Andy and Chris and the Dentology podcast team!

Chris and Andy are joined this week by Imaan Khalid, dentist, BACD Young Membership Committee representative and General Secretary for the West Yorkshire BDA.

In this episode, Imaan talks about why she decided to follow a career in dentistry and what it was like finishing dental school in 2020 at the start of the covid pandemic.

She talks about her work in both general practice and hospitals, shares how these two experiences differed and the time she spends now supporting the BACD and Dentinal Tubules organisations.

She goes on to talk about what life is like as a young dentist, working as an associate in a mixed practice, and what her ambitions for the future are.

Topics:

- Why did you decide to follow a career in dentistry?

- Graduating in 2020 (the start of the covid pandemic)

- Working in general practice and hospital work

- Your commitment to the BACD and Dentinal Tubules

- Life as a young, associate dentist

- Tell us about your ambitions for the future