Happy Birthday, DentaltownUK! 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

To mark the second anniversary of DentaltownUK, I spoke with Marcus Macleod, MD of Defacto, which help publish our magazine.

Mike Gow: What was Defacto’s vision for DentaltownUK when the magazine launched two years ago?

Marcus Macleod: “When Defacto talked with Dentaltown in the USA in 2016 and conceived the idea of DentaltownUK, we had many aspirations for a fresh, new and successful dental magazine.

We knew that because people are accessing more of their media content digitally, via handheld devices and laptops, a digital magazine would have huge benefits for sponsors, who could have tangible feedback on the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. So from the outset, our plan was to digitally serve quality content to dentists, who have very little time to spend fossicking for articles that may be beneficial or interesting. Articles needed to be easy-to-find, well-written and instantly appealing.

As with any business, revenue to pay the overhead has to come from somewhere, so we needed advertisers. We’ve always aimed to go above and beyond for our advertisers, to ensure that their adverts are seen by dentists who interact with them, because they’re actually interested in these products.

Social media has played a large part in growing our audience, and DentaltownUK’s social media channels continue to grow. We’d love to see similar increase with UK dentist involvement on Dentaltown’s message board forums, which offer the opportunity to discuss dentistry in real time and in a moderated, professional, secure environment.

MG: Give us a brief outline of DentaltownUK’s journey so far.

Macleod: It’s been a journey of discovery, and of constantly being alert to a rapidly changing readership and their expectations. Having a fantastic editor has been important, but we quickly discovered that the team that works around that editor—our subeditor, Janet, the designers, and everyone who works on social media, advertising, news reading for The Dental News, etc.—is the real driving force for our success.

The editorial board also has grown and developed over the past two years. Many members of the current editorial board are also regularly contribute content and ideas for the magazine.

Dentaltown’s parent publication and organization in the U.S. is a huge support to us, as well, and we’re grateful for its ongoing guidance.

MG: What’s changed along the way?

MM: The changes we’ve made were guided by advice from our readers. For example, early feedback was that the first editions of DentaltownUK were too lengthy, so we reduced the magazine’s page count. It also helped us find what we feel is the right balance of editorial: clinical cases, practice profiles, lifestyle and business articles, student content and highlights from Dentaltown’s message board forums.

Feedback also helped us develop a unique blend of content that’s sourced mainly from the UK but also includes content from the U.S. magazine. Our readership figures grow on a monthly basis, so we think that we’re doing something right!

MG: Plans are afoot for Defacto to exhibit at this year’s Dentistry Show. This is obviously a big investment. Give us an overview of your reasoning for exhibiting.

MM: You’re right—exhibiting at any major trade show is a substantial investment. Our magazine audience loves when we wander around the trade shows, interviewing suppliers and dentists. This year, we hope to carry out interviews on our stand (L88), giving our audience a preview of the show. (We’ll also promote Defacto’s wares, including the listings website and a new concept for dental clinics.)

MG: How do you see the rest of this year rolling out?

MM: With so much political uncertainty in the UK, we have no way of predicting how this year will affect the profession and business of dentistry. As was discussed in the previous issue of DentaltownUK, we know for certain that regardless of what happened politically, people will need dental treatment and, in order to deliver that, all we and everyone in the dental profession can do is to be as efficient as possible, deliver exceptional standards of work, and continue to achieve excellence.

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