Grow your skills through CPD and practice
Build relationships through knowledge of your patients, long-term care and results.
Today’s work world seems to focus on advancing technology, scaling and growth, founders and entrepreneurs and building your ‘brand’. Other than the scaling, pun intended, what has that to do with dentistry? I’d suggest absolutely everything, but nothing particularly new.
Throughout my career, there have been huge changes in the technologies involved in dentistry. For example, the rise of digital X-rays, OPTs and CBCT and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) products, such as Pearl, to enhance our assessment abilities. This speeds up processes and sharpens our diagnostic wit, benefitting our patients with treatment plans in seconds. Although, we should not be pressurised into making snap decisions, especially on complex plans or where diagnoses are not clear and obvious. Sometimes, having a good think, getting a second or third opinion and considering all the options is the smart play.
By the same token, we still only do direct and indirect restorations, prostheses, endo, oral surgery and perio. Most of these treatments are fundamentally unchanged; I can’t remember which incarnation of resin bonding systems we are on? They work in the same way, just better and I’m very grateful for it. However, that incremental progress has happened without so much as an ounce of my effort. The
cost of that change has not altered significantly either; it may be cheaper in real terms. The manufacturers alter materials, improve equipment design, chairs get more advanced – but that change is not driven by average dentists.
As to scaling and growth, the standard career arc, be it NHS, private or a healthy mix of the two, tends to look pretty much the same. Start small and simple and build skills and patient lists as you go. Inheriting a big list may give you a head start but it’s a double-edged sword; the capitation/insurance payments are great, but can you service the patients? What are their demands and how well are they looked after or managed? Can you keep them happy while avoiding squeezed emergencies and expanding wait times? A slow burn of patient numbers is much more likely to allow a young practitioner to build their experience and talent while maintaining quality and improve their confidence and decision-making abilities.
That is the definition of sustainable, scalable growth. It is the same with practices. Whether you start with a squat or buy an existing practice or even a group, the standard rules for managing growth apply. Supply and demand on one side and the ability to maintain your service quality and reputation on the other. The current situation in many practices is to protect the latter by limiting the former i.e. “we’ve stopped taking on patients” is code for we can’t sustain growth. This is both heartening (someone in the practice has realised that their reputation is on the line and if we load our staff beyond their tolerance, we will lose it) and disappointing that a business struggles to grow and provide the service the population needs.
This leads us on to the entrepreneur/founder process. This was the main reason I chose dentistry over medicine as a career. I was always interested in running a business. I know that is not for everyone, but it seems to be popular to label yourself this way these days. Dentistry has always had a bit of this. The whole model relies on small business owners taking on risk, buying or setting up practices and putting themselves well outside their dental comfort zone and undergraduate training. It is not easy being a practice owner. It is incredibly difficult starting from scratch, even more so if you are on your own. The scale and range of legislation and compliance to learn and satisfy is enormous. But once you’ve done it and mastered it you deserve to call yourself an entrepreneur.
And finally… branding. It seems everyone is building their ‘brand’. Social media is awash with people telling you how to do it. I saw a short video recently with a dental ‘disruptor’ weighing in on this. I agreed wholeheartedly with their thought. Making yourself out to be some kind of special dentist that exists only in a tiny niche in our profession is, in my not so humble opinion, most likely untrue. If you are a reasonable generalist, you can do pretty much everything they need and a course on invisible aligners does not make you an orthodontist.
This influencer’s take was: “No-one wants to spend longer at the dentist than they have to and listening to you talk yourself up is a waste of their time.” Spend that time finding out what their needs are. Talk about them, take them on their dental journey doing what you can, referring well for what you cannot and keep their oral health your top priority. Build the relationship, not your sales pitch. If you do that, then they will be happy to use you for their grand plan. That is how you build your brand, your reputation and enhance your marketing. The single best sustainable practice builder is word of mouth from happy patients. Not posts of footballers with composite bonding on Instagram. Build your skills through continuing professional development (CPD) and practice. Build relationships through knowledge of your patients, long-term care and results. Know your own abilities by seeing your failures, managing difficult patients and exude the confidence brought by experience. Stop ‘building your brand’ and just build your brand. That will lead to a well-cared for cohort that look after you, let you scale and grow and lead a satisfying professional life as a dental entrepreneur.
Arthur Dent is a practising NHS dentist in Scotland. If you have a question for Arthur? Email arthurdent@sdmag.co.uk. Join the conversation, leave a comment about this article below.
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