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PRIVATE DENTISTRY JULY 2016

at a conference the previous year, so that gave me a valuable advantage. He’d actually had a higher offer from a corporate, but as he was looking to stay on at the practice money wasn’t the over-riding factor for him - he wanted to sell to someone he believed in and would be comfortable working with.

THE PRACTICESo many people didn’t actually know the building was a dental practice for so long - after seeing it I had to ask myself why was this place not heaving with patients? It was because of how it looked from the outside - since

my refurbishment we’ve had people who live close by and passed it every day, coming in and saying, ‘We never realised there was dentist here.’

Inside the practice, the surgeries were all very good and well equipped, it was outside and with the marketing where things were lacking. I decided it was the best practice I’d seen in terms of potential, of the three surgeries only one was being used at any time. The practice had lots of patients, but not many who were regular visitors. I also knew there as minimal competition in the local area, only a small number of mainly NHS practices.

My business model would be to bring patients in on the NHS, then up sell private

graduated in 2012 from Manchester University, and did my training year in Gravesend, close to where I live in Bexley, in south east London. That was

in a mixed practice, but it was moving more into private work - so I was seeing NHS patients, but also able to do good quality private dentistry on them when needed, working with state-of-the-art equipment and materials.

I carried on working there after my training year finished, but as I’d always been business minded, I knew I didn’t want to work as an associate for too long, potentially working to a fixed contract in a couple of years. I’d seen the potential in offering private dentistry and wanted to buy my own practice so I could deliver it effectively on my own terms.

After starting to search in 2014, it took me seven months to find the right practice and then eight months to complete the purchase. I signed up with Frank Taylor & Associates and started looking around London and the home counties. Initially I was looking for a fully private practice, but quickly realised I’d be better of with a mixed practice - one with enough of an NHS income to provide a good financial base. Central London practices were attractive, but I also knew I’d have to spend a lot of money on marketing to make me stand out in a crowded market. Through

Dental Circle - which I co-founded - I have lots of contacts and knowledge of marketing and understood clearly what would be required when taking on a new practice. So I ended up looking around the edges of London at mixed practices with good potential to grow the private business. For me looking closely at the practice accounts was key, I didn’t want to overpay for goodwill and end up with a 20-year project just to break even, as would have been the case with some practices I looked at in Surrey.

Eventually I found my practice in Swanley, Kent - only 20 minutes away from Bexley. I also already knew the owner from meeting him

Location, marketing and top quality treatments were the main factors in Dev Patel’s transformation of his Kent practice, Dental Beauty Swanley

HOW I DID ITPRACTICE DESIGN

THE PRACTICEDental Beauty Swanley

1 High St, SwanleyKent, BR8 8AE

PRACTICE TEAMDr Dev Patel - Principal dentistDr Max Pura - Associate dentist

Dr Dariush Hoshyar - Associate dentistDr Kunal Patel - Special interest in endodonticsDr Azim Malik - Special interest in periodontics

Dr Arjun Patel - Facial aesthetics doctorPaige Kelly - Head dental nurse

Nina Older - Dental therapistToni Nichols - Dental nurse

Sanaz Bahador - Dental nurseFreya Rich - Dental nurse

Sadiyah Javed - Practice managerJade Golding - Receptionist

Lindsey Dolden - Receptionist

THE ETHOSWe are passionate about our work, we believe dentistry is both a science and an art. Our goal is clinical perfection and we will do everything

we can to achieve this every-time. We pride ourselves on maintaining a contemporary clinical

ethos, we focus on preventative dentistry and protecting your natural teeth for as long as

possible. We believe in providing dental excellence, within

a safe, comfortable and friendly environment. Our dedicated team will constantly strive to

provide you with tailored care to ensure we can treat your concerns.

60SECONDTOUR

I

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Written by Dev Patel

PRIVATE DENTISTRY JULY 2016

treatments which the other local practices couldn’t compete with. I wanted to offer everything: implants, ortho, Botox. The practice already had clinicians who could do most of that, it just wasn’t being pushed or marketed. The key changes would be new signage and new branding, gutting the whole reception area and lots of marketing activity.

THE REFURBISHMENTFor the refurbishment I had a very clear vision in my head of what I wanted and worked backwards from that. The colours, the logo, everything was specified.

I used one company to replace the shopfront, with painting and decorating being done by a local firm. The other reception furniture, desk, chairs and so on I sourced myself. You can always save money by choosing things yourself and doing it piece by piece.

The biggest changes were to the outside of the practice and the main reception. Previously the exterior of the practice had three different doors: the main practice entrance was in the middle; a door to the left led down to the basement, which will potentially be ours in the future; and a door on the right was the old entrance to

BeforeBefore

After

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PRIVATE DENTISTRY JULY 2016

PRACTICE DESIGN

the practice when it had the first and second floors but not the ground floor. The wall that separated the old entrance from the reception was knocked down to make the ground floor much larger. The old reception had been small and cramped, with large filing cabinets behind the reception desk that took up lots of space. There was also a waiting room on the second floor which we’ve now converted to a suite for our treatment co-ordinator to discuss and sell treatment plans to private patients.

One headache that this did cause was that we needed a new fire escape for the upper floors - something that only came out once the plans had all been drawn up and sent to building services. The cheapest option was to build an exterior fire escape at the rear of the building.

Having a larger reception area has made a big difference though. The old desk was at the back of the reception area, and the blinds were always pulled down to stop sun coming in through the windows and into the faces of the reception staff. By moving the desk and opening up the space we now have an attractive looking, light and airy reception, which people passing by can now see in to.

Everything was repainted and all the old clutter was taken away. The branding and the colours I chose myself, taking inspiration from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton.

The surgeries themselves were left mainly unchanged. One thing I have done is add 50-inch screens to each one - we take pictures

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PRACTICE DESIGN

of every patient and large screens allow us to discuss problems and treatments with them so they really understand what’s going on. The Cerec machine was also updated and is being used much more now than previously. All the computers were updated and the Carestream R4 software updated to the latest version which was really important. A few other bits and bobs were added but nothing major. Dental Directory supply most of my consumables, and I also use Optident materials for my high end cosmetic work - the ‘Dental beauty’ branding also ties in perfectly with its whitening ranges.

THE MARKETINGThe side of the practice is really important, we are No.1 High Street, and the left side of our practice building faces a roundabout that feeds traffic from the M25 to all the local villages. That wall now has a big 4x4 metre sign with the practice name, website and details of our offering. It’s such a prominent site and must reach thousands of potential patients every day.

The new shopfront is also very bold and colourful, while at night we’re still visible thanks to an illuminated LED sign and uplighters in the waiting area which create a really nice effect.

Previously the practice offered lots of different treatments, but little marketing meant not much was being done. In addition to the cosmetic dentistry I do, the previous principal does implants, we have visiting specialists for perio and endo, and two therapists offering hygiene services. I also have a GP who comes in to do Botox and fillers so the practice offers every aspect of dentistry.

I’m working there six days a week and now that the team is complete all three surgeries are working to capacity, which has taken three months to build up to.

The marketing and additional presence is paying off and we’re getting 60 to 70 new

patients a month. In terms of marketing the signage has probably had the biggest effect. The website has also been important, that was redone from scratch with a new URL and with the SEO done by ourselves.

We look to give patients a really good experience, focussed on their journey which is mapped out for them on the website. We offer a full, high-end quality service, which has been taken up really well by all the patients. They really appreciate being looked after and us taking the time to talk through all aspects of their treatment. Because of that we’re also now getting lots of referrals from family and friends.

THE LESSONSThe main issue we had was underestimating what was needed for the building work and building control. There was lots of work that needed to be put in for planning permission, working with the architects and then the builders. I don’t regret it because I was able to keep control and also keep the costs down.

The main challenge was managing the project, but I’m glad I did it how I did, as I was able to be in complete control and make use of connections and relations I’d worked on developing. My advice to anyone starting on a similar project would be to do it yourself, just be ready to manage the work load, look at the details and deal with the stress. I think it’s also important to invest in quality products and materials when it comes to dental stuff, getting quality things that last and do the job well is crucial. Finally it’s important to plan properly, have a vision and stick to it.

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COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THE PROJECTLondon Shop Fitters

Shop front and electric shutters TELEPHONE: 01708 552225

WEBSITE: www.londonshopfitters.co.uk

JFK Signs All signage

TELEPHONE: 020 8679 5428 WEBSITE: www.jfkltd.co.uk

OptidentDental Beauty TV and whitening kits, Clarke Matrix

system, V3 matrix system, Valo, Smile Lite TELEPHONE: 01943 604400

WEBSITE: www.optident.co.uk

Heraeus KulzerVenus Pearl kit

TELEPHONE: 01635 30500 WEBSITE: www.heraeus-kulzer.com

Dentsply SironaCerec Connect

TELEPHONE: 0845 071 5040 WEBSITE: www.dentsplysirona.com

Knight Dental Design Dental laboratory

TELEPHONE: 020 8317 0979 WEBSITE: www.knightdentaldesign.co.uk/

Dental DirectoryAll other materials

TELEPHONE: 01376 391100 WEBSITE: www.dental-directory.co.uk

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