Practitioners are well aware of their obligation to offer dental implants as a treatment option where clinically indicated, and many choose to refer patients to specialist implant centres. Now a service is available that allows practitioners to offer the benefits of implant treatment to their patients within the familiar comfort of their own practice.
Offering this new approach to implant dentistry is Fadi Barrak, who, through his company, Visiting Specialist Services is providing a reliable source of implant placement and restoration for a growing network of GDPs.
Fadi qualified in 1993 from Bristol and by the time he left University he already had a keen interest in oral surgery and further postgraduate qualifications followed. Through his early hospital career, Fadi soon became aware that much of the work he was undertaking could be referred to a practice rather than a hospital.
This realisation was supported by his theory that such a service would have benefits for practitioners and patients alike. For the majority of dental practices, the route to increased profits is through new treatment offerings. Since implants remain a fast growing area of dentistry it makes sense for general practices to offer implants as an option. Not offering implants could be considered bad practice. Meanwhile, for patients, the familiarity of the practice environment would clearly put them at their ease and encourage treatment take-up.
Fadi continued his postgraduate studies at Imperial College and it was whilst he was here he decided to test his theory and began to provide implant and oral surgery services for nearby practices. The experiment was so successful and he enjoyed the experience so much, that, in 2002, he decided to go full time.
Having now been in this arena for almost eight years, Fadi has developed a network of practices with whom he has built excellent relations. At present, VSS works with 34 practices, a mix of NHS and private. He puts his success down to a willingness to be part of the practice team.
‘The more the practice can embrace a visiting specialist the better. This is a real ‘partnership’ and only works if it is a win:win situation,’ he said.
His experience over the last decade has convinced him patients prefer to be treated in their own practice environment. As far as the patient is concerned, Fadi is an integral part of the practice team.
‘If you are accepted as part of the host practice the relationship blossoms. I try to modify my service to exactly dovetail with the needs and procedures of the practice, in this way the integration of my service with theirs is seamless and patients readily accept it.’
Fadi has developed feedback forms for his practices asking for comments on clinical excellence, patient reaction, staff reaction and the overall business benefits. He uses this feedback to tweak his services and make sure they are tailored exactly to the demands of his referring practitioners.
He has developed a toolkit for the administration and finance associated with dental implants. Practices need only a minimal investment in equipment as most of the essential items are provided by VSS, but when a practice does need to buy equipment the toolkit clearly explains what they will need and where it can be bought. He has negotiated discounts with some of the country’s leading suppliers and manufacturers so referring practices can get a really good deal.
‘The direct costs for a practice are actually very low. As a general rule I estimate a practice only needs three implant cases to cover all the initial set up costs, after this point the supply of the service moves into profit.'
When taking on a client, Fadi normally meets the principal to explain how the service works. He also visits the surgery to discuss the logistics of provision and ensure basic governance criteria are being met by the practice. VSS operates an on-line booking service for practices and this is fully explained at the initial meeting.
The VSS team currently consists of 10 people with either specialist qualifications or wide experience in their chosen field. Between them they are able to offer implants, prosthodontics, minor oral surgery, IV sedation, treatment for TMD and hygiene and therapy. Although they can provide nurses, Fadi always feels these are best trained from the host practice as they are familiar with the surgery layout and often know the patient.
For referring GDPs who are interested, Fadi can also provide one on one mentoring designed to help them feel confident with implant dentistry. He covers a variety of topics with his mentees and works at their pace to make sure they are completely comfortable with the procedures; observing cases and helping them through the restorative phase. In 2010 he plans to spend more time on in-house training which he feels is an area of great, as yet untapped potential.
In the past decade, Fadi Barrak has established a highly sought after service that facilitates the provision of implant treatment to a general dental market which may otherwise be reluctant to offer such a treatment. Clinically, this wider provision is of ultimate benefit to patients who are able to benefit from a stable and predictable restorative solution.