The start of my journey
So here I am at home at my desk and I’m writing my first journal entry on my brand new website. Why? Why now, even?
I’ve been qualified for over 18 years and I’ve never felt the need the need to d o this before. I suppose I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things over the last few months. I bet lockdown has given most people time to sit back and reflect on themselves.
What I came to realise is how passionate I am about dentistry and how lucky I am that I am in a profession that I love . Don’t get me wrong, I have days when I just want to get home and not think about the 9-5 like a lot of folk do. But they’re not often and generally I prefer to take time out and reflect on the day.
I want to be the best dentist that I can be and I strive to enhance my skills. This makes me feel that I am providing the best care for my patients as well as building the professional pride of continual improvement.
I suppose the journey starts in 2002 when I finished Dental School and started life as a dentist without anyone to hold my hand and give me that security blanket that I’d always had. I wasn’t a great student and I pretty much did the necessary work to qualify. But that attitude changed when there was me, a patient and a dental assistant in a room and there was only one person in control and responsible for everyone’s welfare: me.
That’s when I decided that I wanted to be the best dentist that I could be.
I spent the next few years learning how to diagnose, improve of techniques and learn to communicate with patients and my fellow professionals. I never once developed a career plan other than to improve.
After some years of this and I incorporated some teaching into my daily life. I went back to Dental School, this time to supervise students who were starting to treat patients for the first time. I could remember that time well from first hand experience and I totally empathised with the struggles and worries of providing a filling on a patient for the first time. I also helped train newly qualified dentists and support them in their first year in the world of practicing dentistry.
However it was only when I started to embark on more aesthetically focused treatments that I found the need to take my dental skills to the next level. I embarked on a series of year-long courses in the UK, learning from some of the leading UK -based practitioners. I joined the BACD and met other, like-minded professionals who I like to think I have built life-long friendships with.
It was at an annual BACD conference that I first heard Dr Frank Spear speak. He was visiting London from Arizona to give a day’s lecture on a complex subject regarding rebuilding peoples broken down teeth. What struck me was just how good a dentist Dr Spear is; a mix of skill and experience. However I marvelled at the way he was able to communicate complex concepts and communicate these in a way that made complete sense and in a fashion that would allow this knowledge to be applied straight away into clinical practice fist thing on Monday morning.
Since that time I have followed Dr Frank Spear’s teaching and that of the institute that created: Spear Education. They provide fantastic online learning and I have been a member of the only UK based Spear Study Club for the last few years. I have also been to Arizona on multiple occasions to participate in their prestigious workshops and seminars, working through the syllabus.
I feel that the structured approach in both examinations skills and treatment planning has allowed me to deliver more comprehensive care to my patients that is also tailored very much to their wants and needs.