Jason with co-pilot David Plange

A dental entrepreneur has taken a novel approach to ensure his dental training company continues to hit the heights – one that has seen him recently fly an aeroplane across the Atlantic Ocean.

Since launching its Bristol and Shrewsbury clinics, Jason Buglass, Founder and Director of Dentale, has increasingly had to travel not just the length and breadth of the UK, but also to France, Germany and Italy, to meet with customers, suppliers, and fellow dental professionals.

A keen private pilot since 1998 with more than 1,000 hours flying experience behind him, Jason has now taken the plunge and invested in Dentale’s own light aircraft to enable him to combine this personal passion for flying, with the more practical benefit it brings of giving him the opportunity to conduct business ‘on the move’.  “As travelling to Europe involves a great deal of flying over water, I decided that a twin engine aircraft would be absolutely essential.  I really liked the look of the Diamond DA42 Twin Star model and after much research, managed to find what seemed to be the perfect purchase, low miles on the clock, excellent condition and a very keen price.  There was just one slight issue, it was based in the United States and I would have to fly it back myself!”

Jason enlisted the assistance of experienced ferry pilot David Plange to join him on the four-day transatlantic flight, which began in Statesville, North Carolina and took in refuelling stops at Bangor, Maine, Goose Bay in Canada, the tiny village of Narsarsuaq in Greenland, Keflavik in Icleand and Wick in Scotland.  The crossing took in some spectacular scenery, including icebergs, fjords and over water crossings but wasn’t entirely without incident.  “On our crossing to Iceland, we ran into a large front from a low pressure system, temperatures dropped to -26ºc and we rapidly started picking up ice, despite the best efforts of the aircraft’s anti-icing system.  Normally under these conditions, the best thing to do would be to divert to the nearest airport but unfortunately that’s not an option when you are 100 miles off land – David and I were certainly relieved to reach Keflavik in one piece,” Jason explained.  “But even that doesn’t quite reach the heights of worry my wife Emma felt at one point during our voyage.  David had a GPS based tracking system fitted, so people at home could watch our progress in real time on a website.  Apparently, at one point the website crashed and we appeared to have stopped, leading to what can only be described as a bit of a panic at home and frantic calls to air traffic control, only to be told we were just landing in Wick, blindly oblivious to all the fuss!”

After finally hitting terra firma again, Jason’s Diamond Twin Star – which has a 13.4m wingspan, a range of more than 1,000 miles, a top speed of 220mph and goes by the appropriate moniker M-OUTH – is now carrying out the slightly less adventurous duty of helping him go about his day to day business at Dentale.

With dedicated clinics in the South West of England and the Midlands, Dentale provides a diverse range of implantology training courses for dentists and dental nurses, including a five-day Introduction to Implant Dentistry, a ten-day Advanced Practical Implantology, a one-day Comprehensive Introduction to Dental Implants for Nurses and Advanced Implant Dental Nursing as well as the National Certificate for Dental Nurses.  Fully registered with the Care Quality Commission, delegates are able to gain practical, hands-on tuition in a clinical environment under the supervision of a team of highly trained professional tutors.

For further information about Dentale please call 08450 1788 99, email info@dentale.co.uk or visit www.dentale.co.uk.

You can read the published article here www.dentistry.co.uk

For further editorial information please contact:
Felicity Wingrove, Rhiannon Williams, or Chris Owens | Zen Communications | 01743 453186
felicity@zen-communications.co.uk | rhiannon@zen-communications.co.uk |
chris@zen-communications.co.uk

The implant dentistry training provider’s Portishead base has proved to be so popular with both dentists and patients since launching in October 2009 that the company has recently recruited another two highly qualified dental nurses, Ewelina Sosnowska and Reka Kovacs, to its growing team.

“Ewelina and Reka bring a wealth of dental nursing experience that will complement the fantastic team we already have in place, led by our vastly experienced lead tutor Kevin Bruce, and they join us at a particularly exciting stage of the company’s development,” Debbie Snelson, Group Manager for Dentale, explained.

Dentale, which operates out of a state-of-the-art clinic on the Middlebridge Business Park, runs a programme of introductory and advanced training courses that enable fully-qualified dentists to acquire not just the theoretical knowledge, but also the hands-on surgical experience they need to learn the discipline of implant dentistry. And because of its status as a fully-supervised education and training clinic, Dentale is able to offer dental implant treatment to patients for around £1,100, around 40% cheaper than the industry average.

Debbie Snelson commented: “In the past year alone, we’ve seen the total number of implants placed by dentists undertaking our training programmes almost double from the figures we recorded in 2010. Not only does this demonstrate the worth of our courses to dentists, but it also highlights a growing awareness amongst patients about the treatment options that are now available to them. Whereas dental implants may have previously been seen as an expensive
solution, with some people actually choosing to go abroad to obtain cheaper treatment, patients now have a viable option to receive cost-effective, yet high-quality treatment closer to home.”

 
For further editorial information please contact:
Felicity Wingrove, Rhiannon Williams, or Chris Owens | Zen Communications | 01743 453186
felicity@zen-communications.co.uk | rhiannon@zen-communications.co.uk |
chris@zen-communications.co.uk

“While the art of implant dentistry perhaps still isn’t as common across the UK as it is throughout mainland Europe – compare the circa 100,000 implants placed here each year to the 700,000 in Italy alone – it’s indisputable that its popularity has significantly increased over the past few years.
Treatment is fast becoming more affordable for patients, in part due to clinics such as ourselves, which are able to offer more cost-effective care on the understanding that it is delivered in a fully-supervised training environment, by dentists and nurses that are developing their skills. And as implants become an increasingly accessible and attractive option to patients, more and more dental practices are seeing the professional – not to mention the commercial – benefit of providing the treatment as part of a wider portfolio of services.

Of course, offering these additional treatments requires dentists and their support staff to undertake the necessary qualifications and training to acquire the expertise they need to compete against other practices. Indeed, over the past year, we’ve seen the number of dentists successfully attending our Introduction to Implant Dentistry and Advanced Practical Implantology courses more than treble, with significant take-up in our new dedicated courses for dental nurses too.

Implant dentistry has its own particular techniques, terminologies, and instruments. As with learning any new discipline, it’s absolutely essential to combine getting a solid grasp of the theoretical aspects with a more ‘hands-on’ element of training. The Introduction to Implants for Dental Nurses and Advanced Implant Dentistry for Nurses courses we have developed aim to strike this balance between classroom-based and surgical learning.

So whilst the basics behind the role of a dental implant nurse, such as the terminology used and the equipment involved, are covered in classroom discussions, the remaining aspects of the course are taught in a more interactive way. Pre-treatment asepsis techniques and surgery set-up are demonstrated in a live surgery, while delegates also get the opportunity to watch a live placement of an implant. The more advanced course also offers the chance to view intricate procedures such as bone grafts and sinus lifts take place.

Another point we emphasise to dentists is the benefits they can get from having their team of dental nurses join them on their own implant training courses. Whilst it is essential the dentist develops the necessary skills and techniques, it’s just as important their support staff also acquires the confidence and capabilities required to assist them long-term. After all, a well-drilled team leads to quicker turnaround times, smoother procedures, and the capacity to deal with an increased number of patients. Dentists on our Advanced Practical Implantology course place a minimum of 15 – and in some cases up to 25 or 30 – implants, a hands-on grounding that will give them the poise and preparation required to perform the treatments at their own practice.

Having their own dental nurses on-site assisting them while they gain this practical knowledge is invaluable, as it helps to reinforce the theoretical know-how gained in their studies with the first-hand experience obtained through observing the intricacies of live surgery.”
A version of this article was first published in the October 2011 edition of Dental Nursing magazine, a monthly journal dedicated to addressing the clinical and professional issues relevant to dental nurses.

For further editorial information please contact:
Felicity Wingrove, Rhiannon Williams, or Chris Owens | Zen Communications | 01743 453186
felicity@zen-communications.co.uk | rhiannon@zen-communications.co.uk |
chris@zen-communications.co.uk

The company runs a series of introductory and advanced training courses that enable fully-qualified dentists to acquire not just the theoretical knowledge, but also the hands-on practical patient experience they require to learn the art of implant dentistry. And because of its status as a fully-supervised education and training clinic, Dentale is able to offer dental implant treatment to patients for just £1,100, around 40% cheaper than the industry average.

“As the cost of dental implants becomes increasingly affordable, more dentists are moving into the discipline, while patient demand is also on the rise,” Debbie Snelson, Group Manager for Dentale, explained. “Since opening our clinic less than two years ago, we’ve seen such an increase in both the number of dentists signing up to our training courses, and patients interested in receiving our cost-effective treatment, that we’re now having to expand our operations.”

The company is currently in the process of recruiting three additional dental nurses to work at its state-of-the art clinic on the Middlebridge Business Park, which is home to four fully-equipped surgeries, a 40-seat lecture theatre, and a number of other conference and training rooms.

The new roles will offer General Dental Council-registered dental nurses the opportunity to assist training dentists learning a diverse range of implant dentistry techniques, including placing dental implants, sinus lifts, tooth extractions, impression taking, and bone grafting.

Debbie Snelson added: “Our whole ethos is about providing training dentists with as much practical, hands-on patient experience as possible, so our nurses spend a great deal of time in surgery. Last month, dentists on our courses placed nearly 200 implants in total, significantly more than most other training environments.

“This really is a great chance to work with some of the country’s foremost implantologists and help the next generation of implant dentists to hone their skills. I’d urge any nurse keen to find out more to email me for further information or send a CV through to debbie@dentale.co.uk.”

With dedicated clinics in the Midlands and South West, Dentale enables patients to get high-quality dental implants placed in a cost-effective and convenient way. Patients are treated by fully-qualified dentists who are training to become implantologists and supervised by Dentale’s team of experienced tutors. With purpose-built facilities incorporating the latest state-of-the-art equipment and technology, including our own dedicated laboratory, patients are ensured the highest standards of treatment and care.

It’s often said that the most successful dentists have something of the entrepreneur about them. After all, clinical excellence is all well and good –but it’s your business nous that lets you put it into practice.  Jason Buglass is no stranger to this concept. A successful private dentist with a string of general and referral practices around Telford, his entrepreneurial streak is perhaps a little wider than most. He also happens to be the head of Implantium, an implant import and supply company, and the brains behind Dentale, a rapidly expanding training business with a difference.  Jason has big plans – plans that include becoming the biggest implant company in the UK in the next five years.  No mean feat, considering that the majority of practitioners in this country are unlikely to have heard of Implantium.

Until Jason came along they barely did any trade in Europe, let alone the UK. But that’s all set to change. Of course, it has to if he’s to knock the big boys from their perches. Accessibility is the name of the game. Jason makes no bones about the fact that to achieve any of his targets he has to grow the whole implant market, but he sees no reason why it can’t happen. He explains: ‘About 100,000 implants were placed in the UK last year – a country with a population of about 60 million. Italy has a similar population, but last year more like 700,000 implants were placed there.’  Jason is convinced that it’s a matter of cost. He says: ‘If you look at the prices in Italy, they’re half what they are here. ‘Cost is a big factor. If you look at the national average income,then £3,000 is a big chunk of that.  There’s going to be a limit on how many people can afford it at that price.’

A new approach

This is where Dentale – a training clinic that makes up Jason’s first line of attack on the market –comes in. Offering patients lower cost treatment on the understanding that it’s a training procedure, the clinic is proof that affordable implants don’t have to mean a trip to Turkey.  Its raison d’être is two fold, although which aspect you see depends a lot on where you’re coming from. 

For patients, it’s a means to an end. They aren’t interested in whose implant system is being used, nor do they mind that they’re being taught upon. In fact,they’re often downright happy about it, says Jason: ‘They know and understand the teaching environment, and they often like the idea of having somebody there who’s very experienced.’  They may not care where the implants come from – but they do care about saving money.  For dentists, the clinic offers a somewhat different take on the established approach to implant training. It also does its bit for Jason’s other company, Implantium, by training dentists in the use of the system.  Jason explains: ‘I was really uncomfortable with the idea of mentoring – not with the principle, which is great, but with the practicalities, which are fraught.  I thought that we could get everybody in the same place instead. The patients know what’s going on; they expect to be taught upon. You have to give them an incentive – in this case it’s cheaper treatment.‘The dentists want to learn implants. They’ve done the theoretical side. They come along to us and, over about five months, spend 10 days at the clinic following these patients through.  ‘It’s all structured; all you have to do is drag yourself there and pay the fee.  Chances are that you’re going to put around 25 implants in and follow several cases up. You leave with a DVD and your logbook completed – having done a lot of practical work and with sky high confidence levels as a result.’

One-stop shop

Dentale arranges everything for its dentists; even down to sourcing the patients.  Dentists start off simply doing the treatment plans, which allows them to do the easy cases first and delay the more complex cases until their skill levels and confidence are where they need to be.

The idea is to avoid the ‘week long course syndrome’ – whereby dentists leave having placed a single implant but fail to follow it up. Preliminary training is an essential pre-requisite for entry to Dentale, and with good reason. There’s not really any theory on offer; aside from tutorials, it’s practical work pretty much all the way.  Jason argues his methods offer an unprecedented level of support for dentists; allowing them to push themselves further than would normally be safe.  He’s identified a further benefit too: ‘Because the patients are absolutely clear that it’s a training environment, it becomes a lot easier to turn around and ask questions without undermining your relationship with them.’  The training cost for dentists is around £500 per day. Patients see a saving of roughly 50% on their treatment – and as a result, demand is high, with a 200-strong waiting list.  Virtually all the patients at Dentale are there for cost-related reasons.

Cutting out the middle man

High demand for treatment is great, but it doesn’t hurt his business model that he’s the implant company as well.  Dentale is supplied by Implantium at cost, meaning the clinic gets even cheaper implants, while the implant company gets more sales and a ready-made user base to boot.  This is the other side of making implants available to more people– offering dentists cheaper products to begin with.  Implantium, according to Jason, charges around 40% less than everyone else. So how can it be so cheap?  He is blunt: ‘It’s really running things on a more business-like basis; a bit more intelligently and keeping the costs down. My honest opinion is that implant companies are able to charge what they do because that’s just how it’s always been.’  He claims Implantium is more streamlined, avoiding unnecessary expenditure. In some areas that’s as simple as limiting dentists’ credit – the longest customers can take to pay is 30 days.  In others, it takes things like a more innovative– and minimalistic – approach to its sales force.  It avoids cold calling and takes sales reps out of the equation entirely, opting to do product demos remotely.  Jason estimates that the business saves something like £70,000 for each rep that he doesn’t employ.  He is adamant too, that cheaper doesn’t have to mean lower quality. He is earnest when he says: ‘It’s the best system I’ve come across. Of course, I would say that – but everyone who’s used it says the same thing.‘  The quality of the manufacture is excellent, but the way the system is thought out is better too.  I reckon it saves me about 20-30%of my time compared to other systems. There are lots of small things that add up to make a real difference.’

Leading the change

Jason is hoping that his own combined efforts will add up to force a sea change in the industry.  He doesn’t see any reason why the UK implant market can’t catchup with the rest of the world, stressing: ‘Implant dentistry doesn’t to be particularly difficult– you have to understand what you’re doing, and you have to understand your limitations and work within them. But that applies to any other form of dentistry.’He’s confident for the future, despite the scale of the targets he’s set himself.  ‘Change is coming,’ he says. ‘It’s not just Implantium; there are a lot of other implant companies coming into the market. It’s going to happen whether I’m here or not– I just want to be at the front edge of it.’

Although many people think that they can save money by doing this, Dentale warns, depending on the dental treatment required, it could end up being more expensive due to the costs of hotels and flights for multiple visits.  Dentale’s research shows that between 2004 and 2008, 779,000 men and 514,000 women aged between 16 and 64 had dental treatment abroad because they believe they would save money.

On a regional basis, nine per cent of Londoners of working age had dental work abroad between 2004 and 2008 to save money. This is the highest percentage for any part of Britain, and could be linked to the fact that the cost of dental work in the capital can be amongst the highest in the country. Analysis by Dentale shows that having a dental implant in the UK costs approximately £1,918. Across 17 European countries, the average cost for a dental implant is around £660, but it can range from between £1,100 to £346.

“If your dentist is in another country this can not only be very time consuming but also costly.” Jason Buglass, managing director of Dentale and a UK qualified dentist.

In the case of dental implants, you need to make a number of follow-up visits and if your dentist is in another country this can not only be very time consuming but also costly.

Source.  By Martin Fagan

In October 2007 the General Dental Council, after grappling with the issue of specialist lists, concluded that anyone involved in the delivery of dental implantology to the general public must demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of competence. As the undergraduate educational experience is polarised to preparing graduates to survive in the generality of primary care dentistry, the only option for the general practitioner to acquire the necessary skills is to attend an appropriate course.

Courses vary in their content and design, so prospective candidates should consult the Training Standards in Implant Dentistry document produced by the Faculty of General Dental Practice, to see whether their ultimate aims and objectives can be achieved. As more and more practitioners offer the service and the patient population has access to an increasing body of knowledge and evidence, prospective implant clinicians need to attain a significant level of skill to be competitive in today’s market. Consequently, course content and design details are crucial when assessing the choices, especially if you are starting the journey from the bottom rung on the ladder.

Enriching

Educational journeys such as implant courses serve many purposes in the enrichment of a clinician’s professional portfolio. Course activity provides the impetus to acquire additional clinical skills and more often than not, ignites the elements of discovery which have been part of a dentists life since entering dental school.

It is likely that the recognition of individuals capable of delivering dental implantology will follow the same line of approval as the ‘dentists with special interest’ negotiations forged half a decade ago. The underlying requirements will be two-fold; 1) to be a proficient generalist with all round competency in dental skills, knowledge and attitudes into which, 2) a clinical skill such as dental implantology learnt under controlled conditions, such as an appropriate course, will dovetail and augment. These qualities of integration are vital and courses addressing these aspects will provide for authoritative guidance. Although there are costs both in time and finance to the practice, the longterm benefits justify and offset these.

Clearly the advantages to the individual of newly learned skills will soon transfer to the practice environment. While existing patients may well have chosen your practice for reasons of trust, location and familiarity, the relationship may come under some scrutiny when they are referred elsewhere for additional care such as implantology. The professional and commercial advantages to your service delivery portfolio are likely to improve if the client base recognises that ‘their’ treatment base is seen as a centre for advanced care.

What course is right for you?

The first thing to consider is whether you want to place implants or just restore them. The easiest way to start is restoring implants accurately placed by an experienced implant dentist. Following treatment plans designed by experienced colleagues is initially reassuring, but for your practice and continuity of care how much better would it be to know why and how things were being done?

For this you will need an understanding of the diagnostic and treatment planning process as well as a working knowledge of surgical procedures. The dentist to whom you refer may be able to help you with the first few cases but, ultimately, a well designed course is more likely to leave a longer lasting legacy. There are lots of course options available and it can seem confusing. There are week-long courses for beginners, many of which have a strong practical content.

Educational journeys such as implant courses serve many purposes in the enrichment of a clinician’s professional portfolio

The next major group of courses are timetabled to run over a year. This has the advantage of avoiding taking a large block of time out of one’s busy practice routine. They do allow more time for self-directed learning into many aspects of the subject providing a comprehensive evidence base. The disadvantage, however, is that it takes a year and some find a punctuated approach is less concentrated and prone to allowing for routines and knowledge to be forgotten during the less active periods. There are also online courses such as the ADI Ark or Smiletube.tv. They are very convenient and ideal for self-directed learning but lack practical experience. They would, however, support the enthusiast with access to clinical cases.

Ultimately, the university-based masters courses provide a structured three-year part-time journey

(certificate, diploma and masters levels) which hopefully address all the issues raised in the guiding FGDP documents. These allow for critical appraisal skills which help inform the learning and decision making process, the benefits of such courses are not realised sometimes until faced with a challenging clinical case. Like so many other courses available, the applicants have to make judgements as to whether, on completion of one of these educational events, they will be performing the skills they have learned and as such decisions to enrol should be made on issues such as access to patients, mentor support and educational quality. Many such courses are available such as that delivered by the Institute of Postgraduate Education at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire), a primary care based institution dedicated to supporting the development of primary care practitioners. Commitment to learning Courses are just the start of a life-long commitment to learning. Clinicians should keep a portfolio of their cases to demonstrate experience, skills and occasional complications, which if reflected upon will inform the educational experience. Joining an association such as the ADI, BSOI or EAO provides an outlet for group discussion and access to update events which inform and challenge.

Ultimately those looking to test their skills and knowledge on a formal front can put themselves through the rigours of the diploma in implant dentistry run through the Faculty of Dental Surgery of Royal College of Edinburgh. A thorough testing of all round skills, this examination and subsequent qualification is the culmination of a journey that is likely to have started years before, on a weekend course in a hotel outside a major town, which tried to provide an answer to your question, ‘why should I bother going on an implant course?’ A whole world of endeavour awaits. Good luck.

The benefits of taking an implant course…

• Any type of course taken will enrich your professional portfolio
• The ability to undertake implantology will improve
• patient trust as they will not have to be referred elsewhere for treatment.
• The practice can be turned into a centre for advanced care by offering implantology, and this may then lead to the dentist undertaking courses in other disciplines too.
• You will be able to add more complex cases to your portfolio
• You will be able to join various associations which will provide access to discussion and events that will continue to stimulate your interest.

A successful business training the next generation of implant dentists continues to expand following the appointment of a highly respected new tutor.

Dentale, which provides a diverse range of practical training courses on implant dentistry and associated fields through dedicated clinics in the West Midlands and South West of England, has recruited Richard Oliver BDS, BSc, PhD, FDSRCPS, FDs(OS)RCPS [GDC Reg No 69456] to help oversee the delivery and ongoing development of their programmes for dentists and dental nurses.

Richard joins Dentale following a hugely successful career in dentistry and oral surgery, during which he has published more than 50 research papers in scientific journals and been appointed to a number of prestigious positions, including the Editorial Board of Dental Update and the Advisory Board for Oral Surgery for the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

A Member of the British Dental Association, the Association of Dental Implantology, and the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, amongst others, he has moved to Dentale from his previous post as Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Oral Surgery for the University of Manchester and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Richard Oliver said: “This is both an extremely challenging and exciting role for me to take on. It’s particularly rewarding to pass on all the experience and skills I’ve picked up over my career to date to help other dentists and nurses progress. And with the fantastic facilities we have on offer at our clinics, we’re looking at developing an even wider range of courses and training programmes in the very near future.”

“Richard is already proving to be a fantastic addition to our team,” commented Debbie Snelson, Group Manager of Dentale. “To have someone of his calibre join our other highly-qualified tutors