DENTOLOGY - The Business of Dentistry Andy Acton and Chris Strevens

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