Dental Leaders Podcast

Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi
  • 5.0 (2)
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The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests. The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow. Find out more at https://www.dentalleaders.co.uk/

  1. 2D AGO

    #334 A Little Jesus — JW Oliver

    This week, Payman chats with JW Oliver — serial entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and the man behind Support DDS, the largest dental insourcing company in the US.  JW's story begins well below the poverty line in Texas and winds through dental equipment, bankruptcy, and a fateful meeting at a Christian marriage conference that led him to Zimbabwe — and ultimately to building a 1,700-strong operation across Africa and Costa Rica. It's a conversation about purpose, resilience, and why answering the phone might be the most underrated skill in dentistry. Along the way, JW opens up about faith, failure, fatherhood, and why giving away 51% of your profits doesn't feel nearly as crazy once the cheques start to mean something. In This Episode 00:00:40 - Welcome and introductions 00:02:00 - Growing up poor; early entrepreneurial instinct 00:04:50 - From dental equipment to Zimbabwe; the chance meeting that started Zim Works 00:09:00 - Purpose over profit; donating 51% and building a philanthropy operation 00:12:20 - Insourcing vs outsourcing; what Support DDS actually does 00:19:30 - A typical UK dental practice use case; why unanswered calls kill marketing spend 00:25:00 - The real challenge; onboarding, training timelines, and setting expectations 00:28:10 - Faith; how it evolved, when it was tested, and the summer of 1994 00:40:25 - Blackbox thinking; not reacting fast enough to a changing market 00:43:20 - Resilience as both superpower and blind spot; when to hold, when to fold 00:51:15 - Writing books; creative process, ghostwriting, and books as authority tools 01:00:10 - Immigration, assimilation, and understanding the other side 01:08:50 - Fantasy dinner party 01:11:00 - Darkest day; bankruptcy, Disney, and a wife who said "I trust you" 01:13:55 - Treating everyone the same; from the excellence team to the C-suite About JW Oliver JW Oliver is a serial entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist based between Texas and Zimbabwe. He is the founder of Zim Works and Support DDS — the largest dental insourcing company in the United States — which employs over 1,700 people across Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Costa Rica, and donates 51% of its profits to charitable causes. A former dental equipment entrepreneur turned global business builder, JW is driven as much by faith and purpose as by commercial ambition.

    1h 16m

  2. MAR 11

    #333 The Four Pillars — Mike Hesketh

    What happens when a Royal Marine Commando dentist who spent six months being ambushed on every patrol in Helmand Province turns his hand to building dental businesses?  You get Mike Hesketh: serial practice owner, consultant, and one of the more quietly formidable figures in UK dentistry. In this episode, Payman sits down with Mike to trace a story that runs from a North Wales council estate and the loss of his father at eight years old, through the front lines of Afghanistan, to a 10x practice exit and the creation of Dartmoor Dental — a 200-year-old manor house turned thriving, NHS-inclusive, ten-surgery practice.  Mike talks with real candour about the four pillars he uses to build and consult on dental businesses, why he treats his NHS contract as a social obligation rather than a commercial one, and how the Royal Marines' mantra ‘cheerfulness in the face of adversity’ translates surprisingly well to practice ownership. In This Episode 00:02:00 — Growing up in North Wales; losing his father at eight 00:07:40 — Deploying to Helmand Province with 40 Commando Royal Marines 00:12:05 — Leaving the military; getting ripped off on day one as a civilian dentist 00:13:05 — Buying his first practice with £20,000 and a devil-may-care attitude 00:51:35 — Selling Exeter and the year-long family world trip 00:54:25 — Laura and the brand; how Dartmoor grew from £700K to £2.5M 00:56:00 — The NHS contract as a social obligation 01:07:40 — Barriers to entry, squat risks, and buying underperforming practices 01:19:00 — Appointing the youngest clinician as clinical lead 01:27:00 — Military-derived leadership principles; letting the ship sail without you 01:33:15 — Fee guides as windows to the soul 01:39:55 — The four pillars: leadership, infrastructure, branding, financial command and control 01:53:35 — Darkest days in business 01:57:30 — KPIs: one metric, embed the culture, then move on 02:11:55 — Fantasy dinner party About Mike Hesketh Mike Hesketh is a practice owner, dental business consultant, and founder of Hesketh Healthcare Accounting. He qualified as a dentist whilst serving as an officer with 40 Commando Royal Marines, completing the commando course and deploying to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. After leaving the military, he built and sold Exeter Dental Centre before buying and transforming Dartmoor Dental — a ten-surgery practice in Tavistock — from a £700K turnover to £2.5M in three years. Mike holds an MBA and a coaching qualification from Henley Business School, and works with a small number of practices on a bespoke, year-long consultancy basis.

    2h 28m

  3. MAR 6

    Mind Movers #48 — Neelima Patel

    Mind Movers is back — and what a return. Rhona is fresh from maternity leave (and a rather eventful ICU stay) and she's brought a guest who needs little introduction: cosmetic dentist Neelima Patel, known to fans of Married at First Sight UK as the woman who handled an absolute car crash of a match with extraordinary grace.  This episode covers a lot of ground. From Neelima's route into dentistry and Kailash Solanki's famous mentorship programme at Kiss Dental, to the full, unfiltered story of her time on MAFS — the honeymoon that promised everything, the energy shift that followed, the Hinge bombshell, and the trolling she endured throughout.  But this isn't just a reality TV debrief. It's a genuinely honest conversation about self-worth, the bruising reality of modern dating, what it means to be a high-achieving woman looking for a partner who matches your pace — and how to come out the other side stronger. In This Episode 00:00:25 – Rhona's return & introducing Neelima 00:02:05 – Choosing dentistry over medicine 00:03:25 – Finding Kiss Dental & Kailash's mentorship programme 00:05:10 – What makes Kiss Dental unique 00:06:10 – Cosmetic dentistry aesthetics: Manchester vs London 00:10:25 – How Neelima ended up on MAFS 00:11:40 – Going against everyone's advice 00:13:50 – Why she wanted to find love on TV 00:16:30 – The wedding day: what you do (and don't) get to choose 00:20:05 – First impressions of Stephen 00:21:35 – The honeymoon — and the moment things shifted 00:25:35 – Internalising doubt: gaslighting in real time 00:27:05 – The trolling, and trusting her own intuition 00:31:25 – The earnings conversation that changed everything 00:38:25 – His true colours: recognising the venom 00:44:30 – The Hinge incident 00:50:20 – Traumatic, enlightening — or both? 00:53:05 – The modern dating landscape & the male loneliness debate 00:58:10 – Balancing dentistry with a media career 01:01:00 – Mental health pressures in the profession 01:04:10 – What she'd do differently About Neelima Patel Neelima Patel is a cosmetic dentist at Kiss Dental in Manchester, working alongside Kailash Solanki after completing his two-year mentorship programme in 2020. She qualified from the University of Sheffield in 2017 and has since built a reputation for high-end cosmetic work in one of the north's most sought-after practices. In 2024, she appeared on Channel 4's Married at First Sight UK.

    1h 7m

  4. MAR 4

    #332 Action, Result — Bilal Ahmed

    Most dentists are brilliant clinicians and hopeless with numbers — and Bilal Ahmed has built a career filling exactly that gap.  A chartered accountant and tax adviser who stumbled into the dental world through his wife's professional circle, Bilal brings a corporate finance sharpness to a profession that's long been underserved by the accounting industry.  In this episode, Payman and Bilal cover the full financial landscape for dentists: from the quirks of associate contracts and HMRC tax investigations to the thorny arithmetic of Invisalign, the hidden traps in popular tax schemes, and the long game of inheritance tax planning.  Honest, direct, and refreshingly unafraid to say when something just doesn't work — this one's a must-listen for any dentist who's ever wondered if they're paying more tax than they should. In This Episode 00:00:50 - Introduction 00:01:05 - Finding dentistry 00:03:05 - Nuances of dental accounting 00:08:35 - Tax investigations 00:19:25 - Good accountant vs great accountant 00:21:05 - Practice valuations and the post-Covid hangover 00:59:00 - Pricing strategy 01:07:05 - Making Tax Digital 01:09:30 - Expensing and entertainment 01:23:00 - Tax avoidance schemes 01:28:25 - Inheritance tax planning 01:34:05 - Last days and legacy 01:36:05 - Being an outlier About Bilal Ahmed Bilal Ahmed is a chartered accountant, tax adviser, and business consultant working exclusively with dental professionals. He came to dentistry by accident — through his wife's network — and recognised quickly that dentists were operating in a financial vacuum, using accounts only at tax time rather than as a tool for planning and growth. Drawing on a background in corporate finance, Bilal now helps dentists make sense of their numbers, structure their businesses correctly, and plan for long-term wealth — all while keeping things firmly on the right side of the line.

    1h 37m

  5. FEB 25

    #331 The Minefield — Nasser Syed & Chez Bright

    Nasser Syed is a man who doesn't really do stillness. With a background in oral surgery and conscious sedation, he's pivoted from five clinical days a week to running a growing group of practices, training dentists, and launching a brand new facility hire venture aimed at super associates who'd rather focus on their dentistry than deal with the headaches of practice ownership.  Joining him is Chez Bright, his PA and right-hand collaborator, who offers a candid view of what it's actually like to work alongside someone whose brain, in her words, is "a minefield."  Payman talks with them both about building teams, backing yourself, and knowing when to say no — plus the early clinical mistake that still sits with Nasser decades later and the personal losses that have shaped his faith and his drive. In This Episode 00:01:00 — Practice ownership 00:05:20 — Developing associates 00:09:00 — Picking a lane 00:16:00 — Meeting Chez Bright 00:17:45 — Running projects 00:24:30 — AI and the future of dentistry 00:31:10 — Manchester Sedation Course 00:37:45 — HireADentalSurgery.com 00:52:20 — Branding and virality 00:57:15 — Blackbox thinking 01:04:15 — Clinical communication 01:13:00 — Lowest point 01:15:20 — Faith and loss 01:22:25 — Memorable lecture 01:25:00 — Fantasy dinner party About Nasser Syed Nasser Syed is a Liverpool-born dentist with a background in oral surgery and conscious IV sedation, currently working across a growing group of practices in the North West. He founded the Manchester Sedation Course in 2015 — SDC-accredited and open to both beginners and more experienced clinicians — and now runs it alongside his clinical and business commitments. His latest project is HireADentalSurgery.com, a dedicated facility hire model in Hale, Cheshire, offering super associates the equipment and flexibility to treat their own patients without the overheads of practice ownership.

    1h 28m

  6. FEB 21

    Everyone Else Is Taken - NAIL-IT with Payman Langroudi

    What happens when you turn the microphone on the man who's spent years behind it? In this episode of the NAIL-IT podcast, Rana and Bav get Payman Langroudi — host of Dental Leaders and Clinical Director at Enlighten — firmly in the hot seat.  It's a wide-ranging, refreshingly candid conversation that moves from the origins of Enlighten and the relentless pursuit of world-class quality to the very real mental health pressures that underpin life in dentistry.  Payman reflects on leaning into his strengths, trusting his instincts, and why, after 320 episodes, the Dental Leaders podcast has become the thing he's most proud of.  Find Rana on Instagram at @drranaalfalaki, and on Facebook and LinkedIn as Dr Rana Al-Falaki. Follow Bav on Instagram at @drbav83. You can also follow the NAIL-IT podcast at @nailit_podcast. In This Episode 00:01:05 — Introductions and the Dental Leaders origin story 00:02:10 — Why Payman started a podcast — and what it's become 00:05:20 — Leaning into strengths, owning your quirks 00:07:00 — Starting Enlighten at 28 and the philosophy of doing one thing brilliantly 00:10:25 — The sacrifices behind world-class quality 00:14:10 — Being number two — and the decision to become the best 00:16:15 — Favourite quote: Oscar Wilde and the art of being yourself 00:20:25 — Identity, self-awareness and shedding the layers 00:21:50 — Dentistry as a kingdom — and why practices are anything but the same 00:23:10 — Mental health in dentistry: burnout, suicide and the stress bucket 00:27:40 — The emotional drain of being "on show" all day 00:30:20 — Kids, careers and the realities of dentistry as a profession 00:35:40 — Knowing yourself before you can lead others 00:36:10 — Intuition as a leadership skill — and how to train it About Dr Rana Al-Falaki and Dr Bhavin Patel Dr Rana Al-Falaki is a periodontist and internationally recognised pioneer in the use of lasers in periodontal treatment, having presented her research to audiences from the British Society of Periodontology to the American Academy and European Federation.  After pushing herself to the point of chronic illness in pursuit of excellence, she channelled that experience into developing the NAIL-IT programme — a performance and leadership system built around optimising energy and helping dental professionals truly thrive.  Dr Bhavin Patel is a dentist and educator who ran a practice on Wimpole Street for nearly eight years before stepping back to prioritise family life. Together, they host the NAIL-IT podcast — a show dedicated to helping dental professionals live fully, lead better, and laugh more.

    41 min

  7. FEB 18

    #330 Analytics and Aortas — Daniel Jones

    Payman chats with Daniel Jones, the Cambridge-educated entrepreneur who's bringing analytical rigour to dental practice management.  Daniel shares the dramatic health journey that redirected his path from investment banking into healthcare innovation, revealing how a near-miss diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition shaped his mission.  The conversation explores the technical challenges of building software that actually talks to the chaotic ecosystem of dental systems, from practice management platforms to lab invoices trapped in PDFs.  You'll hear about the realities of fundraising, the loneliness of startup life, and why Daniel thinks the best entrepreneurs operate with surprisingly simple rules—even when solving complex problems.` In This Episode 00:01:05 - What Medfin does 00:03:05 - Associate performance metrics 00:04:00 - Connecting disparate systems 00:04:50 - Single practice viability 00:05:40 - Why dentistry? 00:06:10 - The blood pressure discovery 00:08:20 - Coarctation diagnosis 00:09:05 - Healthcare system chaos 00:10:40 - Economics at Cambridge 00:12:25 - Investment banking to startups 00:15:50 - First startup lessons 00:18:55 - Finding the dental opportunity 00:22:40 - Building the founding team 00:25:15 - Technical architecture challenges 00:29:30 - Onboarding process evolution 00:33:10 - Product development philosophy 00:36:45 - Pricing strategy and models 00:40:20 - Fundraising journey 00:44:35 - Investor relationships 00:48:50 - Multi-practice versus single site 00:52:15 - NHS versus private analytics 00:56:30 - Clinical efficiency debates 01:00:45 - Competition and market positioning 01:04:20 - AI integration plans 01:08:35 - Team building challenges 01:12:50 - Work-life balance realities 01:16:15 - Fantasy dinner party 01:18:40 - Last days and legacy About Daniel Jones Daniel Jones is the founder and CEO of Medfin, an analytics platform that helps dental practices and groups optimise their operational and financial performance. A Cambridge economics graduate who moved from investment banking into the startup world, Daniel has built software that connects the fragmented ecosystem of dental practice systems—from practice management platforms to accounting software—giving practice owners the insights they need to improve profitability.

    1h 22m

  8. FEB 11

    #329 Sandhurst to Scotland — Amber Aplin

    Payman chats with Amber Aplin, who's carved out something genuinely different in the Scottish Borders. From military dentist to biomimetic practice owner, Amber's journey takes in Germany, Iraq, private equity, and ultimately building a practice that puts prevention and patient education at its core.  She talks candidly about the realities of military life, the loneliness of early practice ownership, and why she now trains therapists and other dentists in minimally invasive techniques.  There's also a refreshing honesty about perfectionism, work-life balance, and what happens when you stop chasing the next big thing and start appreciating what's already there. In This Episode 00:00:40 - Military beginnings 00:02:05 - Sandhurst training 00:03:55 - Germany posting 00:06:50 - Iraq deployment 00:09:25 - Leaving the forces 00:10:45 - Moving to Scotland 00:12:30 - Early practice ownership struggles 00:15:20 - Private equity involvement 00:19:10 - Buying the practice back 00:22:15 - Building a biomimetic practice 00:26:40 - Therapist-led model 00:31:20 - Teaching and courses 00:36:45 - Microscope dentistry 00:42:10 - Direct bonding techniques 00:48:25 - Patient communication 00:53:30 - Practice culture 00:58:15 - Work-life balance challenges 01:04:20 - Pascal Magne influence 01:09:40 - Preventive dentistry philosophy 01:15:50 - Social media approach 01:21:35 - Business versus clinical focus 01:26:45 - Blackbox thinking 01:28:50 - Fantasy dinner party 01:30:15 - Last days and legacy About Amber Aplin Amber Aplin is a biomimetic dentist and practice owner in the Scottish Borders who served six years as a military dentist, including deployments to Germany and Iraq. She now runs a prevention-focused practice where therapists deliver the majority of patient care, and teaches minimally invasive dentistry techniques to other practitioners.

    1h 36m
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About

The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests. The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow. Find out more at https://www.dentalleaders.co.uk/

Information

  • Creator
    Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    384
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi
  • Show Website
    Dental Leaders Podcast

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