Dental Management

Posted: 3 February 2012

The ‘Honest’ approach: To a new practice

In setting up his new practice, Honesty Dental Care, Dr Richard Denny did his homework to ensure reality fitted his vision of a clean and contemporary environment

After travelling one hour each way to his dental practice for the past 26 years, Richard Denny and his wife Carole decided to take on the challenge of designing their own new-build dental practice to expand their interests in general, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, as well as orthodontics. But before they could do this, they had to find their ideal location.
 

Location, location, location

Having searched long and hard to find suitable premises, Richard and Carole came across an ideal new-build plot located close to their home in Baildon, West Yorkshire. The location was certainly a selling point as it was extremely convenient for Richard, giving him the opportunity to have more integration between his patients and to partner up with Phil Evans from Techceram, the ceramic restoration dental lab specialist, which is perfectly located less than 100 yards away. This particular plot is located next to Tesco, a gym, and opposite a BMW motorbike dealership. When they identified this location, Richard said, 'This location really does tick all the boxes and has excellent potential.' So much so, both Richard and Carole settled on Baildon as their choice to launch their new dental practice: Honesty Dental Care.
 

Brief and equipment

Richard and Carole had quite a specific brief for Baildon. They were very keen for the practice to project a modern, contemporary style, utilising large, easy-clean glazing, whilst maintaining a calm spa-like environment. The surgery needed to be able to maximise its space (1,111 sq metres) to allow Baildon to offer two good-sized treatment rooms - one for Richard and one for a dental therapist/hygienist, as well as a reception area, decontamination room, staff room and patient consultation room.

Both Richard and Carole were keen to move away from the more traditional dental chairs with the all-too-familiar blue upholstery, and move towards a design that is more ergonomic, stylish and comfortable for their patients. Having tried and tested numerous dental chairs, they came across the A-dec stand at the BDA exhibition, showcasing the A-dec 500 in lime green, sewn upholstery (Parrot). They agreed this was the colour for them as it felt fresh and modern.

Another important element of the treatment room design was the cabinetry, this was all bespoke for their practice and provides excellent, all round ergonomic solutions for both Richard and his dental team. The digital imaging equipment is from Digital Dental, with intraoral cameras fitted in both treatment rooms, as well as the addition of monitors above the dental chairs to display digital photography and X-rays, which both Richard and his patients can see clearly while discussing treatments.
 

Layout and design

Following the equipment purchase, the focus shifted across to how their new, hi-tech equipment and minimalistic approach would work throughout the whole practice. Richard said, 'We did not settle on one particular surgery design and were open to suggestions – Mark from A-dec had a big influence in our minimalistic approach using the box method and working corridor. We would recommend this to anyone thinking of setting up a new practice. By using this design method, it allowed us easy access from the rear of the surgery to avoid cross-infection contamination.'

Commenting on the end result of the interior design, Carole said, 'We took inspiration for elements of our design theme from the dental chair upholstery and utilised the layout design from Mark. Richard was quite set in his ways after 26 years in the same surgery; however, he loves his new approach to dentistry. The minimalistic design and interior layout, combined with state-of-the-art equipment offers a working environment that is second to none, which both myself and Richard are extremely proud of.'

The specialised fit-out

The new-build equipment fit-out was completed by DB Dental, an official A-dec authorised dealer. Gareth Bennett supervised the equipment project for DB Dental and worked closely with Richard and Carole to make sure the project stayed on time and within budget.

When asked if there were any problems encountered throughout the project, Richard said, 'Our project ran very smoothly and if I could offer some sound advice to anyone starting a similar project, get a good project manager to be on site constantly. We would recommend A-dec for their excellent dental chairs, installation, training and aftercare service, along with DB Dental for the overall fit-out and high quality attention to detail.'

Honesty Dental Care has now been open for a few months. When asked what patients are saying about their new surgery, Carole replied, 'They love it, as we do. They say it is not like going to the dentist – it’s too pleasant, the chair is so comfortable, and the whole surgery has this relaxed spa-like feel.'

Some of this excellent patient feedback is down to both Richard and Carole spending the time to choose the right dental chairs for their practice.

Choosing the right dental chair is one of the most important decisions that you will make within your career as a dental professional, and with it comes the opportunity for you to enhance and improve the whole way in which you practise dentistry. As with all big investment purchases, high quality products and top customer service are imperative when choosing new dental equipment and these features and benefits should be highlighted and appreciated in a showroom environment to ensure an informed choice is made.

When asked whether visiting a showroom was beneficial in their buying decisions, both Richard and Carole agreed, 'It gave us an excellent opportunity to experience all the different dental chairs, try them each out and assess each of them to our individual needs.'