Renowned cosmetic dentist Mervyn Druian and his daughter, dental hygienist Bernita Shelley, have published a new book on how to grow, progress and succeed in dentistry.
Mervyn, a leading dentist known for introducing porcelain veneers to the UK, and Bernita, a dental hygienist, life coach, and artist, bring their individual perspectives and experiences to Dream Believe Achieve, which launched last week.
The book aims to help dental professionals unlock their full potential in both their personal and professional life, while also reducing stress and encouraging readers to dream.
It consists of 30 easy-to-follow chapters, each one focusing on a different aspect of professional and personal growth, from setting goals to looking after your health.
With real-world examples, practical advice and inspirational quotes, each chapter is packed with valuable experiences and insights drawn from dentistry. Together, the chapters are designed to give the readers all the necessary tools to excel and succeed.
‘Anyone can dip into this book and take aspects of it for their personal and professional lives,’ Bernita said. ‘While we wanted to tailor it to the dental profession, readers can range from dental students or graduates to those further down in their career.
‘For example, it could be useful for people halfway through their career who just need that inspiration or that reminder on how to be motivated and realise where you’re going in your career.’
‘You need to fall in love with your profession’
Co-authors Mervyn and Bernita said they feel ‘enormous pride’ to have created something which will make a difference to dentistry. They first decided to write the book together to share their experiences and learnings with the profession.
Mervyn said: ‘I’ve had such a brilliant career, and I’ve enjoyed it and learned so much that I just wanted to give something back to the profession.
‘The other reason I wanted to write this book was because Dr Omer Reed, my mentor, was really the father of preventive medicine and practice management and profit – all the stuff you don’t learn at dental school. And he never wrote a book.
‘And so I wanted to incorporate his teachings so the current generation and the next generation of dentists can really learn from our experience.’
Bernita said she hopes readers come away from the book feeling inspired, happy and grateful.
Mervyn added: ‘I wanted it to be a very positive book and make people positive about dentistry. I think you need to fall in love with your profession and fall in love with your team, and that’s what I’d like readers to get out of the book.’
Looking to the future, both Mervyn and Bernita hope to use their experiences and knowledge to mentor and coach dentists and their teams.
