To celebrate 25 years of Dentistry magazine, we’ve asked leading dental professionals for their game-changing innovation that shaped their career. In this article we asked Ben Atkins what his game-changing product is.
Ben Atkins studied dentistry at Sheffield University, qualifying in 1998.
After that he spent some time at Karolinska Dental Hospital, renowned for its restorative work.
In 2001 he bought a dental practice in Salford.
This became part of Ben’s four-surgery Revive Dental Care business, which won many awards.
Ben was a member of the Young Dentists Commission in 1999.
Since then he has been press and parliamentary representative for the British Dental Association.
He is also a spokesperson for the Oral Health Foundation.
Ben is currently on the Board of Trustees of the OHF, and chairman of the Salford Local Dental Committee.
Communication tools
Over the past 20 years, restorative products have developed so far.
However the product that has affected me personally is the Tri Plaque Gel from GC.
Strange choice but let me tell you why.
It is a communication tool that has allowed me, without spending a fortune, to allow my team to communicate with my patients how they can improve their oral hygiene.
It demonstrates that they have not been brushing their teeth and in short puts responsibility back onto the patient, allowing me to be able to concentrate on patients who want to and have improved their oral hygiene.
Linking this gel with products like Calcivis and diagnostic tools like the Schick digital radiographic sensors, transformed my life when communicating with patients.
The communication of treatment is critical, especially in the NHS world I work in.
Software of Excellence
As a dentist working on paper for the first few years of my career, I suppose the major change was ‘going computerised’.
I could not think of a life without Software of Excellence.
This was to be fair the biggest game changer.
Without computerisation I simply would not have survived.
Software of Excellence has allowed me to automate a lot of communication with patients.
It enables me as a principal to monitor recall rates and manage them correctly.
All whilst standardising treatment as much as possible (automated oral hygiene instructions, information regarding consent and explanations of the prototype criteria were critical).
Creating a great business
Software of Excellence is a specialist in dental practice management software and marketing solutions to dentists and dental professionals.
The right dental software can make all the difference to the success of your practice.
Through a combination of advanced dental practice management software, bespoke business services, and a dedicated team of dental business coaches, Software of Excellence provides dentists with the tools to achieve their goals and transform their practice into a great business.
Software of Excellence offers over 30 years’ experience in developing solutions for dental practices.
It provides a bespoke service to fit your needs, with a range of teams whose sole focus is to help you get the most out of working with Software of Excellence.
Check out Ben’s experience of setting up a homeless dental service.
