Implant and cosmetic dentist Dr Nilesh Parmar shares the role charity work and mentoring plays in his life and career.
Dental surgeon and Philips key opinion leader Dr Nilesh Parmar infuses his life with giving back – from pro bono work to a flourishing mentoring programme. He talks about the responsibility dentists have to implement corporate social responsibility into their practices, and how the charitable initiatives have helped him develop too.
‘Dentistry is unique within healthcare, because most UK practices are owner-led private businesses,’ says Dr Parmar. ‘There is often a good profit margin for dental practices, and because of that we should be very aware of our privileged position and give something back.
‘This can vary from supporting friends and colleagues who have their own charitable interests, or working with a charity directly.
‘It’s also important to give back to your local community. We need to consider what we can do as individual businesses to how we can help those less fortunate around us.’
Inspiration
Dr Parmar outlines his inspiration to give back.
‘My drive to help people has come from my dad. There’s an old saying he used to tell me that the more you have, the more humble you should be, and the more you should help those around you. That always stuck in my head, and has become my philosophy now.
‘About 10 years ago I started offering some pro bono cases. It’s something I adopted from friends who are lawyers in America, who take on pro bono legal cases. A lot of the pro bono cases I offer are for the elderly.
‘It’s terrible that we don’t offer free dental treatment to older people, especially when we know many are suffering, not able to put the heating on. I think every older person should be able to eat the meal of their choice – it can be really debilitating not to be able to properly eat.
‘So I take one case a month, and make my patient a set of dentures or give them implants to help them eat more comfortably. I think we need to try and treat the human. I like to sit down with these patients and just listen to them.’
Beyond the practice
Social responsibility can extend beyond the practice, and the UK.
‘I work with a charity called Wells on Wheels, which was started by my good friend Shaz Memon,’ explains Dr Parmar. ‘It aims to build and donate water wells to remote areas of India. I am UK born, but my parents are of Indian origin, so I felt a strong connection with their work.
‘We are so lucky to be able to turn on the tap in this country and get fresh water. In other areas of the world, there are children whose sole responsibility is to provide water, walking to and from a far away well, carrying heavy water on their shoulders and back. It means they can’t go to school because their time is spent collecting water.
‘I carry an honorarium with them, and through the charity’s hard work, we’ve helped many girls back into schools. Our focus now is to help schools with the supplies they need – it’s been a huge success.’
Mentoring
Mentoring is also a huge part of Dr Parmar’s life.
‘I have my own mentoring programme. As we all do, I always had dentists and other healthcare professionals asking for advice. I thought, why don’t we try and formalise this? So I have created a programme where I take on four people, every four months and mentor them.
‘We have regular one to one meetings, and monthly hour-long video calls. We discuss their lives and what the challenges may be. Often the issues aren’t related to clinical work – this isn’t a clinical mentoring programme, I don’t teach about implants. I don’t have an agenda or indicative, I’m not trying to sell anything.
‘I think after you’ve been working in the dental industry for 20 odd years, you’ve seen a lot, and there’s a lot you know about that less experienced people may not automatically consider. Sometimes just one little suggestion can change their day.’
‘Stuck on the treadmill’
‘I think a lot of us are stuck on the treadmill of trying to work and survive. I speak with my mentees about where they want to be, how we can get them there, and what could be holding them back. Often it is things like confidence, self-doubt and past trauma. I’m not a qualified therapist, but I try and listen and give them a little bit of guidance.
‘It’s been amazing, I’m really proud of my mentees. Some of them have gone from not liking dentistry to feeling fulfilled, because they weren’t in the right workspace environment and didn’t understand what changes they had to make.
‘For others, perhaps dentistry wasn’t the right career path – no matter what we try, they’re not happy. Some people don’t see it as a career pathway, they see dentistry as a nine-to-five. If that’s the case, maybe you need to seek a different type of dental employment. One mentee is now doing computer coding instead of dentistry, and is much happier.
‘It’s all free, I don’t charge. I ask them to donate to Wells on Wheels if they would like.
‘I think we all have our own skill set where we can help. My dad was a dentist, and when I first qualified I would go to my dad for help. Now if you have an issue with something, you can look online. You can get 20 responses in ten minutes. We never had that wealth of information. But there are so many untruths online, and younger dentists can feel overwhelmed. Having just one person they can trust can really help not only their working environment, but also their quality of life.’
Supporting the vulnerable
Dr Parmar believes brands and dental professionals can work together to better support our most vulnerable.
‘I think hygienist visits, toothbrushes and toothpaste should be provided by the government, or by the companies who create them,’ he says. ‘However, we know that the more you offer something for free, the more it is devalued. That’s where grants and funds by companies can play an integral role instead.
‘I would like more companies to offer grants to young dentists who show great promise. And brands can support with more pro bono work too – a fund for work on vulnerable patients would encourage more people to do pro bono work.’
Supporting others has helped Dr Parmar develop as a dentist. He outlines how:
‘Philanthropic work has really helped me. It helps you authentically connect to people, and I share more of myself now. My mentoring has become a key movement for me to have deeper conversations with people, which I wasn’t very good at before. It’s helped me build better connections with my patients too – if you build strong connections with them, they will be very loyal to you. So it’s been a very good step for my career too.’
