Craig Welling and Barry Lanesman discuss building the future of FMC and Dentistry Practice Services.
FMC is building on 30 years of trusted media leadership to launch a new chapter: a dedicated practice services offering, one shaped by collaboration, a clear vision for practice support, and a deep understanding of the evolving needs of dental professionals.
While FMC media remains an independent and trusted voice in UK dentistry, this new offering aims to provide practices with the support they need to grow and adapt.
At the heart of this next phase is a powerful partnership: Craig Welling, who has long steered FMC’s connection to the profession, and Barry Lanesman, whose decades of operational experience in dentistry bring new perspective and depth to this expanding area of focus.
Together, they discuss their shared ambition, the trends shaping the market, and how FMC’s evolving platform is designed to help practices navigate complexity and thrive.
Building on deep roots and clear vision
Craig Welling has been at FMC for nearly 16 years, leading its growth from a traditional media business into an essential resource for dental professionals.
His unique insight comes from continuous dialogue with practitioners and deep industry relationships.
Craig explains: ‘We noticed significant fragmentation within practices – different logins for compliance, HR, marketing, and more.
‘We realised there had to be a better way, a unified solution to support efficiency and scalability.’
To help deliver this next phase of growth, Craig brought in Barry Lanesman as a non-executive director and investor alongside Coniston Capital to bolster FMC’s practice services offering with decades of operational expertise.
Barry’s career includes over 35 years in dentistry, from clinical practice to financial services, culminating in a decade building corporate dental practices across the UK.
Barry shares: ‘Practices often lack the time or specific skills needed to scale and modernise effectively.
‘A strong support partner should collaborate directly with principals and practice teams to grow and develop the practice in a meaningful way.’
Why now – and why FMC?
The decision to expand FMC’s Dentistry Practice Services comes at a crucial time of rapid technological advancement and increasing patient expectations.
Craig points out: ‘Practices face overwhelming changes. Technology now enables smaller practices to access tools previously exclusive to large corporates, but they need help integrating these effectively.’
For Barry, FMC was an ideal partner due to its unique combination of deep community connections and practical market understanding.
He explains: ‘FMC has consistent contact with dental practices, suppliers, and practitioners. Their understanding of the profession’s needs and the capacity to communicate effectively made it the perfect fit.’
Craig saw Barry’s operational background as the essential ingredient for FMC’s next stage: ‘Barry’s extensive experience running practices at scale, combined with FMC’s deep industry relationships, creates a powerful dynamic. Together, we offer a genuinely comprehensive support model.’
Differentiating Dentistry Practice Services
What sets FMC’s Dentistry Practice Services apart is its holistic approach. ‘We’re not offering singular functions but a comprehensive range of services under one trusted brand,’ Barry clarifies.
Craig adds: ‘Our values centre on truly understanding our clients’ needs. We listen first, then build targeted solutions around specific challenges around efficacy and growth, ensuring practices aren’t burdened with excessive technology but equipped with precisely what they require.’
Dentistry Practice Services supports practices across four key areas:
- Dentistry Compliance, with expert tools and advice to ensure regulatory excellence
- Dentistry Consent, offering a fully digital platform to streamline the consent process
- Dentistry CPD, delivering high-quality, GDC-aligned learning
- Dentistry marketing, partnering with Xcelerator Dental, to drive patient growth and brand visibility.
Their support spans clinical excellence and commercial success. Craig emphasises: ‘Most dentists enter the profession to deliver patient care, not to run businesses. Our role is to simplify backend management, freeing them to focus on what they do best – patient care – while simultaneously improving their financial health.’
Looking ahead
Looking to the future, Barry highlights the transformative potential of digital tools: ‘Today, HR, compliance, marketing – all previously manual, cumbersome tasks – are becoming seamlessly integrated and tech-enabled. Our job is to ensure these tools genuinely help practices scale effectively.’
Craig visualises success clearly: ‘Success is having clinicians openly share how significantly our services have contributed to their practice’s growth and their ability to deliver outstanding patient care.’
Support, passion and vision
Both leaders are passionate about the journey ahead. Craig summarises: ‘We’re building something special – driven by support, passion and vision.’
Barry leaves practice owners with a key message: ‘There is powerful support available. Practices no longer need to face these challenges alone; Dentistry Practice Services is here to ensure their success and growth.’
Together, Craig and Barry’s partnership signals an exciting future for FMC – and a transformative moment for dental practices throughout the UK.
To find out more about FMC’s Dentistry Practice Services, visit dentistry.co.uk.
This article is sponsored by Dentistry Practice Services.
