Through the keyhole: surgery- Home and Away

Dentists spend most of their waking hours working in practice, and don’t get many opportunities to see inside other dentists’ surgeries. Dentaltownuk’s recurring feature takes you through the keyhole into surgeries in the UK and around the world. You will meet the dentist, their team, see the practice and learn about what has made it work for them.

Through the Keyhole- Surgery:HOME

ABOUT THE DENTIST

Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what made you pursue a career in dentistry.
My Name is Andy Wallace. I am a dentist in Northern Ireland working between my own practice in Lisburn and a referral practice in Belfast.

I didn’t always want to be a dentist. I have no relatives or family friends in the profession. I knew as a kid I didn’t want to be a doctor but did want to do something similar so when I was choosing university applications, dentistry was one option along with pharmacy and optometry. No one in school suggested it, I just read about it in a careers book in the school library.

Which university did you study at, and what qualifications do you have?
My undergraduate degree was at Queens University in Belfast in 1998, Later I gained an MClinDent in Prosthodontics from King’s College London. I gained an Ad Eundum MFGDP following gaining my MClinDent

What are your particular interests/skills in dentistry?
My particular interests within dentistry are pretty wide: Prosthodontics, endodontics, orthodontics I enjoy them all and have taken considerable extra training in them all and accept referrals in both Cranmore Dental and implant clinic in Belfast and in my own practice.

Who would you say has had the biggest influence in your career Dental
There are two people that spring to mind when you ask me this: Pearse Stinson was my VT trainer straight out of Queens, and I continued to work with him for another 5 years and it was Pearse that pushed me to get into further education.

More recently I have had the pleasure of working along with Tif Qureshi in IAS, Tif is so passionate about dentistry, if it hadn’t been for reading an article of his in 2007 I wouldn’t have taken the Inman aligner course with him and James Russell. That one-day course probably had more impact on my career than any other course I took before or have taken since.

Non-dental
My wife Linda is incredibly supportive, she is also a dentist and without a single grumble supports me and picks up the slack at home with our 2 kids when I am away speaking, learning and generally having a good time all over the place. She didn’t even raise an eyebrow when I came home from a conference in Birmingham a couple of years ago and announced I needed to go to America the next week and India a couple of days after that.

Another big influence has been my friend, business coach and martial arts instructor Martin Rice, I have known Martin since university where we both worked in the students union, we have even competed internationally together.

What is your favourite procedure to carry out?
I count myself fairly lucky that I enjoy most aspects of dentistry but of course I have days that I find challenging. My favourite treatment, probably still has to be anterior alignment, when you have patients that actually genuinely appreciate what you are doing for them and can be so pleased with the outcome.

Are you involved in any organisations or societies?
I am involved in loads of dental organisations too many to mention them all, I am the incoming president of the European Society of Aesthetic Orthodontics, a non-profit organisation set up a few years ago with the goal of improving the education of dentists and the public about orthodontics with a primarily cosmetic goal.

Another organisation I am very proud to be involved with is dentinal tubules. Dhru Shah set up this website several years ago with the aim of bringing education to as many people as possible.

What are your interests outside of dentistry?
I used to have lots of non-dental interests but most of them fell by the wayside when I started my Masters and had a family. I had no idea how much time commitment was involved in an MClinDent (or having two kids). I just didn’t have the time to commit to continue martial arts or any free weekends to do trackdays anymore. Now weekends, when I am at home, are spent with the family and ferrying the kids to various things. I still make it up into the Mourne Mountains a few times a year with my good friend Martin.

What do you think is the biggest problem or challenge in dentistry today?
I have little interest in dental politics, but my impression is that we are lacking clear leadership in the profession, of those that are in leadership roles, most aren’t practicing dentists.

What is the biggest advancement you have seen in dentistry in your career?
The improvement in composites, has been amazing, when the first truly aesthetic composites came out they required great skill and knowledge of the materials to be able overcome their flaws. Now we have materials that can achieve really impressive aesthetics in 2 or three layers and have the physical properties that make them last well.

What would you like to see change in dentistry in the next 10 years?
I would love to see an improvement in the general positivity in the profession, the recent behaviour of the GDC in its heavy handed approach to complaints and the rise of defensive dentistry, it is not how we should be practicing in the profession. An overly defensive approach is in not putting the patient’s interest first.

Describe the most successful or rewarding experience in your professional life.
There are quite a few things that I am proud of in my career but none took quite so much work as the MClinDent in Prosthodontics from King’s. When I initially was speaking with Prof Millar about the program he told me it was twice as much work as a MSc, I didn’t really believe him, I totally underestimated how much of a commitment it was. It was a tough 4 years with a couple of young kids and running a practice, I could not have done it without a huge amount of help and support from Linda my wife.

What type of music do you listen to?

Most of the time I just listen to the radio and whatever comes on Radio1 but my friends and colleagues have been telling me for years I’m too old for radio 1, I may have to relent.

ABOUT THE TEAM:
Do you work alongside other dentists? If so, what are their names, and what interests/skills in dentistry do they have?
Working between two practices gives me a great mix, in my own general practice I work with 2 great general dentists Craig Gibson and Emma Dougherty, Craig is a funny surfing Scot with a great sense of humour and a chilled out attitude, we get on really well and have similar views on most things, having a partner in practice can be difficult, and I count myself lucky that the two partners I’ve had in Lisburn have been really easy to get along with.

ABOUT THE PRACTICE
What are you most proud of about your practice?
The Team, one member of the team has been with the practice for 40 years most of the rest have been with us for 5-10 years, this level of stability in the team is fantastic for patients, Daphne our longest standing team member knows so much about our patients, their families and friends it is so nice to see her chatting with them.

Through the Keyhole- Surgery:AWAY

ABOUT THE DENTIST

Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what made you pursue a career in dentistry.
My name is Alessandro Fedi. My dental clinic is called ‘Studio Fedi’ and is in Firenze, Italia, (Florence, Italy). After High School I had romantic notions to become a Medical Doctor because I had read the Cronin Novel “The Citadel”.

I felt that I would like to manage human suffering and dentistry therefore seemed to be ideal, also because of my artistry.

If you hadn’t become a dentist, what job do you think you would have had?
I would have liked to do any kind of artistic job, such as actor or musician for example.

Which university did you study at, and what qualifications do you have?
I did my studies in Florence, Cagliari, Parma and Rome Universities. In Orthodontics: Tweed Society in Tucson (USA) and Èlite Private Practices in Paris and all over the world. In Hypnosis: SIIPE of Loriedo, Italian School of Ericksonian Hypnosis and Psychotherapy’.

What are your particular interests/skills in dentistry?
I’m focused now on Aesthetic Dentistry with orthodontics, veneers, Gnathology and Posturology, Dental Anxiety treatments and Psychotherapy with Hypnosis. My studies in hypnosis have helped me develop an innovative design in my dental office to create a special environment for my patients. Creating this environment for my patients is a very important part of my dentistry. I invite you to take a look ‘through the keyhole’ for yourselves- click on the link to see a video of inside my practice!

What is your favourite procedure to carry out?
At this moment I am overall focused on excellence in veneering treatment with the new rapid digital workflows, but I am also improving my hypnosis skills with courses and congresses.

What could you not work without?
The digital world of dentistry and anything that contributes to the patients’ wellness!

Are you involved in any organisations or societies?
I’m fellow of WFO, ESC, SII. I plan to found an Italian Society of Dental Hypnosis.

What are your interests outside of dentistry?
My family is the most important thing but I also love music ( I play Guitar , Piano and Harmonica), all the arts, diving and gardening.

What do you think is the biggest problem or challenge in dentistry today?
I think that it’s important to lower the cost of treatments. It is also essential to give the best instruction to young dentists.

What is the biggest advancement you have seen in dentistry in your career?
Digital technology is the biggest promise towards worldwide high quality dentistry.

What is your favourite film?
“La Strada” (The Road) of Federico Fellini.

What type of music do you listen to?
All types. My preferred are blues, post-Wagnerian authors as Gustav Mahler, and the Chopin and Schubert romantic piano sonatas and string quartets.

What would you like to see in the dentaltownuk magazine in the future? News, articles and ideas by dentists from all around the world.

ABOUT THE TEAM:
Do you work alongside other dentists? If so, what are their names, and what interests/skills in dentistry do they have?
Yes I have alongside in my Clinic : Dssa Valentina Iuliano, paediatric dentist ; two Dental surgeons, Dr Enzo Rossi International Piezosurgery Academy Past President and Dr Domenico Giannini that has also a Degree in Maxillofacial Surgery, Dr Chiara Gori Endodonthist, Dr Lorenzo Landini Periodonthist, dr Mirco Raffaini Prof. Maxillofacial Surgery in the Florence University.

How many other members do you have in your dental team, and what are their roles?
I have a Director, a Secretary/Receptionist, three Dental Assistants, two Dental Hygienists and a Dental Technician.

What do you think are the most important things about your team?
Everyone understands that they are an important part of a team and that together is better than alone!

Do you have team meetings? If so, what format do they take?
When we have meetings we develop these in two parts. A) I illustrate the future projects and ideas and B) A collective discussion about recent events and things that can improve our life and our work.

What did you do for your last staff Christmas night out?
I organized an aperitif, a dinner and some gifts for everyone.

ABOUT THE PRACTICE
What is the name of your practice and where is it located?
Studio Fedi Firenze , located in Florence, Italy.

Do you play music in the practice? If so, what do you play?
I play music in every room. I change the music every day, depending on the news and the weather.

What sets your practice apart from others?
Holistic and Humanistic approach respecting every individual, considering a body-mind being.

How do you market your practice?
By word of mouth my patients, Social Networks and Web Sites.

What are you most proud of about your practice?
The fact that I have been in the job for 36 years and I still want to accomplish a lot more projects in my professional future.