Dr Namrata Upadhyay, CEO and founder of NamNR Pro, explains how her Global Dentists’ Pool works and why it could be the answer for dentists working within the NHS.
I’m Dr Namrata, I am the founder and CEO of NamNR Pro. We’re a company based in Switzerland and we have created something called the Global Dentists’ Pool.
In terms of training, I’m a dentist and I transitioned into the med tech sector half a decade ago. I’ve been an external consultant to medical device companies and then I worked as an executive within manufacturing firms. So in a nutshell, I’ve seen pretty much all sides of the table when it comes to the dentistry domain. I’ve seen it as a clinician, I’ve seen it as somebody who works on the inside, and also as an external consultant.
Now, I’ve started my company and the pool, where I hope to bring a lot of collaborations together.
What is the Global Dentists’ Pool?
Essentially, when I was working in these roles within various companies, I noticed certain gaps in the dental device industry. One major gap is that engineers and their teams rarely receive clinical input when designing devices, often because they lack sufficient access to clinicians. Another issue is that engineers aren’t well-trained in dental jargon; they usually rely on basic onboarding or Googling, and they are thrown into the abyss.
So I noticed that engineers need access to a larger group of clinicians who are passionate about dentistry and can provide the necessary support to build better devices. On the other hand, the career path for dentists has remained largely unchanged for decades, often involving working under supervision before starting their own practice. This can be very stressful, as dentists must always appear calm and in control despite financial and operational pressures.
Seeing this, I thought, why not flip the script? Dentists need alternate channels of earning – something on the side in order to support themselves. This led to the creation of the Global Dentists’ Pool. Our platform connects dental device companies with dentists, providing dentists with training through our Premium Dental Advisor Programme. This programme teaches them how the industry works, bridging the skill gap between knowing how devices are used and how they are made.
By participating, dentists can earn additional income without interrupting their practice, or simply engage in something different if they wish to support the industry and explore new opportunities. Our platform facilitates this collaboration, aiming to become the Upwork or Fiverr of the dental tech industry. That’s our vision for the future.
How do you think it could help UK dentistry?
There’s this expectation that if you become a dentist, you have to dentistry, and there’s absolutely nothing else that you can do. Why should that be the case? Dentists have great skills that can be leveraged in other ways. By adding a few more skills, they can support the industry and create alternate revenue channels.
It’s a creative solution. Most dentists feel confined to expanding their practices – it is often seen as the only path – but there are other avenues. Not everyone wants to manage multiple clinics. The industry needs dental practitioners’ input and corporate sectors value their expertise. By upskilling and creatively presenting their profiles, dentists can find new opportunities.
I am creating a platform where we will highlight the right skills to the right companies, so that the matchmaking can happen between projects. We can facilitate that process by bringing projects, bringing work, upskilling – I genuinely believe there’s going to be a great state of flow created through this platform. I’m super excited to see how this grows.
Sign up to the Global Dentists’ Pool here: www.pages.namnrpro.org/global-dentists-pool or email [email protected].
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