Over the two day event, they welcomed 700 delegates from their clinical and non-clinical teams. With 38 CPD sessions to choose from as well as an awards ceremony and gala dinner, the conference gave delegates the opportunity to learn, network and celebrate being one team.
Key note presentations
The event very much centred around the theme of teamwork and the ball was set rolling by compere for the day, England rugby star Kyran Bracken, MBE.
Delegates listened to presentations about being part of ONE TEAM as recently appointed CEO Tom Riall outlined his vision for the future of mydentist and Managing Director Annette Spindler stressed the importance of working together to achieve a unified goal. In addition, there were key note speeches from Mark Stephenson, Managing Director of Dental Directory, mydentist Clinical Directors Manish Prasad and Nyree Whitley, Sandra White, National Lead Dental Public Health, John Milne, Senior National Dental Advisor, CQC and Jim Higginson, oral cancer expert and academic fellow.
This was the first time a selection of mydentist clinicians spoke at the conference. Domingos Mamede and Affan Saghir shared their stories about working for mydentist and how the teams they work with play such a vital part in their success. Shamlakan Samir talked about the mentoring scheme at mydentist, and how being a mentee has helped her. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during her passionate talk.
One clinician who was honoured to get up on stage and share his story and passions in front of his 700 colleagues was Affan Saghir:
“With every opportunity and experience I have gone through, I am forever humbled by how fortunate I have been to get to where I am in my career; having won ‘Young Dentist of the Year’ at the 2016 conference, I was truly honoured. To be recognised with such an accolade so early in my career I felt very grateful, and now to have been asked to return to the annual mydentist conference to present was even more of a privilege.
“To speak in front of hundreds of highly-esteemed colleagues of mine was a great experience. Initially I was anxious as I was unsure of what I could provide to such a conference. After discussions with the organisers, it became apparent my journey and passion for minimally invasive cosmetic dentistry would be the foundations of my talk. I was calmer than I had anticipated taking the stage. Throughout my talk I focussed on teamwork and how vital it is, especially within a dental practice, emphasising the importance of a strong support network.
“I also used this platform to give back in any way that I could and tried to share helpful tips which I’ve accumulated over the few years of my practicing career. To finish, I couldn’t complete my presentation without talking about my fantastic patients. My motivation to become a better dentist is simply derived from me wanting to see my patients with healthy, beautiful smiles. It was the ideal opportunity to share a few patient stories, to emphasise where my passion for dentistry stems from and how listening and responding to my patients’ concerns is the root to becoming the best dentist for my patients.
“The conference as a whole was a wonderful experience. I thoroughly enjoy being a part of the extended family and am thankful for the opportunity. Doing this presentation has given me the chance to reflect back upon my work and to understand where my dentistry began from, and where it is today. I look forward to the future and hope to continue to strive towards becoming the best that I can be and hopefully help influence others.”
Celebrating success
Besides networking and learning, the event itself had a lot to offer delegates. On the Friday evening, the conference was transformed into a gala dinner and the room was filled with laughter at host and comedienne, Lucy Porter’s dental puns. After dinner, Lucy, along with Tom Riall, presented the awards to all the winners in a number of categories ranging from Dentist of the Year to Practice Manager of the Year. After the award celebrations, attendees let their hair down and danced the night away to the evening entertainment.
There were also £80k worth of spot prizes given out throughout the day, which included a team trip to Ibiza, a Belmont Voyager Dental Chair and a weekend in Dublin.
Ending on a high
The conference rounded up with a jam packed Saturday of CPD sessions. Delegates had the opportunity to attend sessions from a large range of dentistry topics, delivered by experts in their fields including ‘Radiation Protection’, a hands-on session on ‘Class 1 composite with Venus Pearl’, and a full day of sessions delivered by our academy team.
There was a real sense of unity over the event, something reflected in the great feedback received. It was clear that hundreds of personal goals were set over the two days and a new lease of enthusiasm was instilled for the future among all the delegates.