‘Complete peace of mind’: Dr Laith Abbas discusses her experience installing a new dental chair with RPA Dental.
‘You should not rate a company when things go well, but when things go wrong and how they then support you’
I am a dentist first and foremost. However I also used to work on dental refurbishment for a number of different companies where my role was to design and build dental surgeries.
Beside acquiring a considerable amount of experience, it gave me a real opportunity to observe what different companies were able to implement. That was really an eye opener.
So, when I had my own plans to open a squat practice in Crouch End, North London, it was a chance to apply all my learnings.
Second to none support
For me, RPA Dental stood out. Their planning, delivery and after care were second to none.
I think it would be fair to say that with all projects, you always encounter issues no matter how meticulous you have been when working on the planning.
So, essentially you should not rate a company when things go well, but when things go wrong and how they then support you all the way through.
And RPA Dental are, in my view, the ideal partners.
Choosing a dental chair
Selecting the right dental chair was front and centre of the project.
The dental chairs in the squat practice needed to be replaced – it was time to start afresh.
The chairs I used in the former practice always had issues and I regularly had to call out engineers to undertake repairs.
As a result, the cost was incremental, reaching £2,000 per chair.
It was not cost effective and, more importantly, I was concerned about the down time which was affecting the business.
One particular bugbear was with an amalgam separator which gave us perpetual headaches. Every time there was a fault, you would get an alarm and the chair would instantly stop operating.
You could not predict when this might happen as there was no pre-warning, so we ended up with a day or two without a dental chair.
I don’t need to explain how much of a nightmare that was.
‘We haven’t had a moment of regret’
So, finding the right dental chairs for Treehouse Dental was an absolute fundamental.
Pete Higgins of RPA Dental recommended that we go for Stern Weber chairs. He was absolutely right.
From day one when our first five chairs were installed we haven’t had a moment of regret.
The training to fully utilise them was just unbelievable.
Our engineer Jamie stayed late even though he had an early start. He wanted to ensure we had all the details needed and that we would be able to fully operate it without any glitches the following day.
Jamie also encouraged us to record the training so that all members of staff had an opportunity to check anything they might have missed or wanted to refresh their memories about.
He also took the initiative to come back after the training to talk to staff who could not attend the first session. Nothing was ever too much trouble.
Soon after the chairs were installed one of the dentists unfortunately got the foot pedal stuck underneath one, damaging it. RPA Dental came out the next day and replaced the pedal free of charge, even though it was our fault.
We were so appreciative of their goodwill.
No messing around
We opted for the S320 Stern Weber chairs in each of our treatment rooms. It has all the bells and whistles you could wish for.
In addition, it has a peristaltic pump built into it and is ideal for our specialist room. It is also ideal for our clinician who performs a lot of oral surgery.
Our endodontic specialist has also been using the in-built endo motor, and our implant dentist is also very happy with it as no additional kit is required.
In the children’s treatment room, our little patients also love it. They jump onto it because it looks inviting and cosy.
In fact, we all find it refreshing that no equipment gets lost or damaged and there is no messing around trying to find items.
The space and accessibility to patients with its knee break chair design and functionality makes the chair comfortable to work with.
Another benefit is that it offers the option to work ambidextrously. We have all been there with left-handed clinicians working on the wrong side because the fit is for a right handed person, meaning that tubes are hanging over patients.
We are delighted with this new option as it makes everything a lot less complicated and stress-free.
‘Unbelievably comfortable’
The seats on a Stern Weber are all fabricated with memory foam, so they are unbelievably comfortable for the patients.
This is ideal considering that we do so many treatments that last over two hours.
We even have functionality which allows the headrest to move and rotate in positions to avoid neck, head, shoulder and back problems.
As for the clinician’s comfort, you can literally manoeuvre the chair in any position you like. It can slide the patient backwards and forwards, which works well if you have limited space.
In fact, the Stern Weber designers really thought through the ergonomics of the chair. They work well no matter the space in the surgery
I have every confidence in the reliability, functionality and longevity of the Stern Weber brand.
Of course, we know that RPA Dental also look after us, so we have complete peace of mind.
Above and beyond
The team at RPA Dental go beyond what is actually expected of them. They are there from beginning to end and even get involved in things they are not even responsible for, with a view to ensuring that the project is completed to perfection.
On the first day of the clinic opening, RPA Dental had an engineer on site, even though everything had been tested days prior.
That is their way of showing they really care about you and what you have tried to achieve.
Having them by my side is just fantastic. There is no guess work, they are confident and have an immense amount of experience.
I have already ordered another two Stern Weber chairs after we installed our initial five.
I am very happy with how the practice now looks and anyone wishing to come and see the equipment can get in touch – I would be delighted to show them around.
For more information about Stern Webber chairs at RPA Dental please visit www.dental-equipment.co.uk/dental-chairs/stern-weber/.
