Dr Chris Ball, Clinical Director of Dentistry by Cure Clinics, discusses setting up a squat practice, how he designed the premises and tailored services for the local community.
I’m from Preston – I grew up here and studied dentistry here after a degree in biomedicine. I remained local while working in various settings from private to NHS practices, prisons and out of hours access care for emergencies.
I had always wanted to pursue a career outside general dentistry, so I completed a postgraduate diploma in restorative dentistry and clear aligner therapy.
About 18 months to two years ago, I decided that I wanted to establish my own private, state-of-the-art digital dental practice. I acquired premises on a retail site, which was a blank canvas, an empty shell unit, and this gave me full control for a totally customised practice design.
Building from the ground up
Getting the practice ready was a long-winded process, involving a number of key dental consultants and engineers to facilitate the development of the practice, especially when it came to the equipment.
It was important to me that we had all the latest technology and innovations such as digital impression scanning and CBCT imaging. This equipment is essential to be able to provide comprehensive dentistry, but also solid everyday dental care.
As such, I did plenty of research before purchasing any technology and really looked around for the CT. A colleague recommended Vatech for my radiographic solutions after their own positive experience with the company and put me in touch with the team – they were amazing from start to finish.
They were unbelievably helpful in ensuring I selected the right equipment for the type of dentistry I wanted to provide.
I liked that Vatech provide the full spectrum of services from product installation to training and on-going support. They are the technology manufacturer as well, which cuts out the middle man if you have any questions.
The quality of the equipment is excellent and it is certainly price competitive.
I chose the Smart Plus CT because it is compact and offers both traditional 2D panoramic and 3D imaging in one machine, which is the kind of flexibility you need to offer both general and some more advanced dental services such as endodontics, dental implant placement and oral surgery.
It does all this, while providing superb image quality with low radiation dose technology.
I liked that the CT automatically amends the shape and exposure of the focal trough – so you get imagery of just the areas you want while further ensuring an efficiently low dose and maximum benefit to the patient.
I also selected the Vatech Ezray Premium intraoral x-ray and Vatech Ezsensor to support the wider imaging needs of the practice.
Of course, while integral to the business’ success, the facilities are just one part of what makes a great practice. Our team are what really makes us what we are. I wanted to encourage a culture of empowerment among all team members, getting them involved with the patient journey wherever appropriate.
Our dental nurses take the clinical photography, the treatment coordinator has an active role in communicating with and supporting patients.
We have a dental therapist-led model that enables them to fully utilise their skills too.
We also found this approach facilitates highly effective chair management, allowing the team to focus on what they do best for maximum efficiency and profitability.
A grand opening
About five weeks ago, we opened the practice with approximately 400 patients on the books. This was thanks to a pre-registration waiting list we created last year, so we hit the ground running and were able to generate good income from day one.
It has come together at the right time – we all know how the pandemic has left many practices unable to take new patients and so access is challenging for many. We are located near a new housing estate of 4,500 homes in central Preston with no other infrastructure for dental care.
We’ve positioned the business as a provider of good quality, comprehensive dentistry to serve the community, with additional services for oral surgery, advanced endodontics and dental implants.
As such, we have welcomed a lot of families. We even recently organised our first dedicated children’s day, which created a very interactive way of doing dental care and engaging with our young patients in the local area.
We had plenty of entertainment, selfies with our very own tooth fairy to win a toothbrush and more. Everyone had a great time and parents were really impressed with the approach we took.
The feedback from patients has been fantastic. We are delighted to see 5* Google Reviews flying in and to be conversation-worthy – organic word-of-mouth marketing is the key to rapid initial growth in a business like this and we’re proud that people are already referring friends and family to us.
All patients are welcome at our practice – pay as you go and members – plus we’re open seven days a week so we can manage emergencies too.
Setting up your own practice?
For anyone approaching a similar project, I would definitely recommend getting in touch with Vatech to explore your technology options.
I was impressed by the personalised service I received – Vatech were keen to really understand my practice and suggest products that would be most suitable and they offered brilliant support during and after the installation.
They know what they’re talking about and have been so helpful!
To find out more, please visit www.vatech.uk.com/smart-plus
