The Dancing Dentist by Kishan Sheth

Dr. Shiraz Khan

Kishan Sheth: Thank you for talking with me, and congratulations on your appointment onto the honorary editorial board of DentaltownUK.
Dr. Shiraz Khan: Thank you!

KS: Where do you currently work?
SK: Ten Dental and One Stop Doctors.

KS: Where and when did you qualify? 
SK: University of Birmingham in 2013.

KS: How would you sum yourself up in just three words?
SK: Aspirational, tenacious and grateful.

KS: Do you have any fears?
SK: I’d say my biggest fear in life would be to stagnate, to be constant, whether that’s clinically or with family. I’d hate to be standing still.

KS: What time do you usually get up on a weekday and how do you get to work?
SK: I’m normally up by 5:30 a.m. I travel by national rail or London underground.

KS: What do you find most challenging in dentistry?
SK: I’m always striving for perfection and that can sometimes be difficult to manage.

KS: What first appealed to you about a career in dentistry?
SK: The initial appeal was the fact that there was the engagement with people and the manual creativity.

KS: Has anything surprised you so far?
SK: The ability to travel with dentistry. I’ve been lucky in that sense—I get to travel a lot in my professional work either giving or attending courses.

KS: Favourite areas of dentistry?
SK: Adhesive and minimally invasive operative dentistry.

Photo: Who Got the Flower Official Photography

KS: How did you get involved with competitive dance?
SK: My friend told me about a class on break dancing. I’d never tried it, but was amazed by the moves I’d seen in break dance competitions. I went to dance class by myself, because everyone I’d asked had refused to come along. I was a university student (studying medical sciences at the time) amongst hardcore hip-hop dancers! That was quite nerve-wracking. I’ve come a long way since then.
One highlight was when several of my close dental friends and I appeared on Diversity Presents Steal the Show.

I usually enter things with low expectations, but I have a good work ethic. I’ve always said to young dentists: Work hard but don’t expect big things. If success comes from what you’ve done, it’s a bonus.

KS: Is there a patient who has most stood out for you during your career so far?
SK: I attempted to refer a woman with complex dental needs to secondary care settings on several occasions, because she needed multispecialty treatment. Unfortunately, her referral was declined from a number of trusts.

She was trying to turn her life around and had financial constraints, but I wanted to be able to help. Her words to me were, ‘no one wants to treat me’ and I felt a moral obligation rise.

I didn’t think the needs were beyond my scope of practice and I carried out more than 15 restorations, prosthetic work and multiple extractions. It was a case that took some time to achieve and challenged me in the process. She claimed that the treatment had ‘changed’ her life.

KS: Who were some of your influences that you looked up to during your childhood?
SK: My father has been, and always will be, a big inspiration. He was the first person I’d ever seen with solid work ethic and humility. He learnt things the hard way. I was able to pick this up from my father.
Another inspiration was Waqar Younis, who plays cricket for Pakistan. His technique and ability to bounce back from failures had a profound impact on me growing up.

KS: Do you think there’s enough in the dental curriculum about the business side of dentistry?
SK: I think clinical dentistry is the priority in the curriculum, but at the same time they do offer some training on business. It isn’t very well understood by the students. Accountancy, marketing, being creative, use of social media, tax matters and associate contracts, for example, are all things which undergraduates really need to have a grasp of before starting out as dentists.

I used to notice that young dentists would not pay to go on courses. Many didn’t realise that course fees are actually tax-deductible!

Anyone reading who is aspirational and wants to learn more can seek training from the Young Dentist Academy (YDA) and other courses. We have some very ambitious plans for the YDA and I’m excited to see the growth of the committee taking place.

KS: What are your longer-term ambitions?
SK: I believe that people should have short-, medium- and long-term goals in their social lives and their professional careers.

In the short term I wish to pursue my master’s in restorative dentistry to increase my scope of practice and expand my level of knowledge and understanding.

In the medium term I wish to continue working hard with the YDA. We have a goal of becoming an association of dentists over the next 5–7 years. People are now even beginning to contact us to request training in other countries.

In the long term, I’m beginning to give more thought about practice ownership; however, most importantly of all, I want to continue supporting and looking after my family.