In 1997 I bought my own practice in Mansfield. I personally provide a full range of restorative treatments; endodontic, advanced restorative and most orthodontic options. My colleague Duncan Park provides implants and surgical dentistry at the surgery as well as IV sedation.
The practice is 95 per cent private and we treat children on the NHS. Mansfield is an industrial market town so we expected our NHS provision to possibly not survive the recession. The practice has three dentists working the equivalent of two full-time dentists, as well as two therapists.
The refurbishment came about from the need for expansion as well as the need to keep ahead of the game and maintain investment, especially in a recession.
Originally a large stone-built 1920s semi, the structure has gradually been converted into one building. The first half was converted circa 1973 and contained three surgeries. I purchased it and following considerable refurbishment, I bought the adjacent semi in 2010. This meant we could expand to five surgeries and remove most of the interior walls downstairs in order to create the required design.
We had 15-year old equipment in some surgeries but we weren’t able to shut down to do what was needed. Extending the practice allowed a new ‘side’ to be built whilst still operating from the existing side. Then, using a phased approach, we could move operations to the new side so that the old side could be renovated.
The BDTA Dental Showcase was the first port of call for preliminary research; here I could compare the equipment on offer from each of the big manufacturers. After this, because I’m left-handed but work on the right, I wanted to investigate different designs. Visiting A-dec’s Showroom was invaluable – territory manager Mark Harris has set up virtually every possible combination of the A-dec 500 for me to try with my nurse. The design I had in mind was discarded when I saw their 12 o’clock configuration. Deciding to use A-dec and its authorised dealer DB Dental was partly down to the quality and reputation of the equipment, but mainly because the 12 o’clock design could have been devised just for me.
Additional to the five surgeries, we have a consultation room, OPT room, large patient lounge, reception office, four toilets, decontamination room, a staff room, stock room and my office. We have always used dual sink layouts and never had a decon in the surgery - compliance with HTM 01-05 came largely with an update in material; Corian, Parapan, coved flooring and so on. Cabinetry was from DB Dental, suction is stand alone and we went for Cattani turbojets.
I had always liked the lime green colour but thought it too bold; when the interior designer used that colour as one of the accents without prompting, I decided to go with it in both new surgeries.
I realised DB Dental would provide me with the solution I wanted right from the beginning; it had a very good reputation and was professional in every way. It delivered what it promised exactly on time.
When planning a surgery refurbishment, my advice definitely would be to visit the showroom and take your nurse. What works for you might not work for the nurse, and what appears to be a great design might be ergonomically unsuitable. Finally, experiment with different layouts in the showroom in order to get it right, even if that means discarding traditional layout ideas.
Our patients love the refurbishment. The arm-suspended 22” TV (which doubles as a Playstation, Bluray player and radiograph viewer) gets most comment, closely followed by the massively comfortable chair. Adding LED lights to the cabinetry changes the ambience of a surgery, this has also drawn comment. The green is a very striking colour for the chair, and has only had positive remarks.