Mike Gow: A Best Place to Work? by Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine

by Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine

Dental Partners

Dental corporates sometimes get bad press. I’ve never had any direct working experience with one, so I have only the reported experience of other dentists and dental team members to help me form any kind of opinion.

The main concerns I’ve heard over the years are about things like the corporate drive being more geared toward profit rather than patient care; dentists feeling they are restricted and have less clinical freedom, which may reflect quality of work; and a sense of the whole thing feeling a bit soul-less. There is certainly a sense that some feel that corporate dentistry is a bad thing for the profession and for patients.

That said, I’ve always been aware that the people who are vocal on any topic may not actually give an accurate representation of the general consensus. I was therefore keen to take a recent opportunity to meet with Neil Lloyd, chief executive officer, Caron Best, operations director, and Ravi Rattan, clinical director, from the UK’s newest dental corporate, Dental Partners, to quiz them on their claim of having a ‘new and refreshingly different outlook’ and on their slogan of being the ‘best place to work’.

We met in London around the time of the BACD conference. All three were very friendly, approachable and obviously very proud of their company, which at the time of interview included 33 practices across England with around 150 clinicians.

The first surprising thing I learned was the fact that they themselves are not keen on the word corporate and the potentially negative connotations that it may have.

Lloyd explained that the company’s vision is to grow to 80–100 practices but that at the core was to be the ‘best place to work’.

He went on to explain that engagement and communication with associates was essential to achieve this, and that everyone involved within the business has a say in any major changes.

He and Best cited recent examples of staff training and uniform choice.

Clinical freedom was highlighted by Lloyd as being one of the most important elements of Dental Partners’ ethos. In fact, he described it as their ‘sacred principle’. Lloyd explained that 86 percent of their associates who responded to a recent questionnaire felt that they have enough clinical freedom. In particular, Dental Partners prides itself on empowering associates, giving them the freedom to choose the materials and laboratories they wish to use in practice. Lloyd was quite clear in his opinion that ‘the clinic is the dentist’s domain—they make the clinical decisions.’

Experienced dentist Rattan explained the structure of having clinical, regional and national leaders with an open culture that encourages any team member to speak to another regardless of ‘level’. Indeed, he revealed that in the Dental Partners survey, 75 percent of their dental team felt they would be comfortable in being able to criticise management if they had to.

Lloyd explained that people value their local dental teams and that Dental Partners want to embrace that and give the team more support and opportunity.

Rattan pointed out that a dentist at any level of experience gets sound advice and support from within the group from the many other experienced dentists.

Lloyd also discussed how many dentists like diversity in their careers and explained that associates have opportunities in a wide range of clinical dentistry settings and fields. He believes in building an environment for a dentist to thrive.

Best added that many also undertake charitable opportunities, such as dental missions to Tanzania. She also highlighted the opportunity for team members to transfer within the group if they were to move house or wish to pursue a particular aspect of their dental career or training pathway.

My meeting with Dental Partners was certainly a positive experience and I’m glad to have met them. I personally got a positive Dragon’s Den feel about them! They clearly understand the business that they are in and have a wealth of experience. They understand that by identifying the unique aspects of a dental practice, dental teams and indeed individual clinicians they can build on the existing strengths and maximise potential through communication and support.

Dental Partners made it clear that their ethos is simple: Create an environment of being the ‘best place to work’ to recruit and retain the best clinicians and team members. With a great team in a supportive environment, the patients will receive the best care and ultimately as a result, the business will thrive.

The experience reminded me to maintain an open mind and to avoid making prejudiced opinions on any topic before gathering information and insight.

Can I reach a general conclusion as to how I feel about all dental corporates from this? No, that would be like trying to conclude if I liked all ice cream after trying only one flavour! I liked this flavour, however ...

Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine