Summer 2021

28 Apr21096 Smile with Confidence Bespoke Smile is dedicated to changing the way individuals experience dentistry for the better by making high-quality dentistry affordable and easing dental anxiety. It’s complete dental care with a difference – it’s bespoke. We take a closer look at the clinic in light of it being named The UK’s Leading Cosmetic Dentists – 2021. Bespoke Smile sees patients who have their own regular NHS dentist, patients who have not been to see any dentist for many years, and new patients who have moved to the area from elsewhere in the country or abroad. The reason it commands such a variety of patients is through what it calls “The Bespoke Way” which is well expressed by its vision statement values (Be trusted. Be kind. Be responsible. Be aware. Build relationships.), but also through the clinical reputations of its dentists. The clinic has built a strong reputation as providers of healthy, long lasting, beautiful smiles – and for its dentists, a smile is not just about aesthetics, but it’s delivered with health and function in mind. Bespoke Smile’s treatments where possible involve a “trial smile” where a single tooth, or a single quadrant, or a full mouth is hand sculpted to be beautiful and functional – and its patients test this smile for a period of time depending on the situation. This gives patients the ability to showcase their new smile before it is completed, to friends, family, or even just themselves. They then return to the clinic and give feedback on what they would like to either improve, change or tweak so that their final result is truly bespoke. This has taken years to develop, and a great deal of training has been carried out by the clinic’s dentists to learn this technique. Bespoke Smile’s principal, Dr Sam Jethwa has been considered to be responsible for developing this hand sculpted method further than it has ever gone before. The clinic implements this technique because it cares about how long its dentistry lasts. Each member of the Bespoke Smile team participates in regular training and receives appraisals and support accordingly. Including the clinical staff, with clinical cases discussed in virtual meetings between dentists in the same way as in medicine, doctors discuss each complex case together to form the best and most evidence-based methods of treatment. They therefore learn from each other, as well as can provide the best quality treatment to patients. Dr Sam Jethwa holds a monthly clinical meeting with dentists and hygienists to keep on top of progress and updates them on things they will be working on going forwards, as well as discusses challenges that they are facing. This transparency helps the team to become a part of the growth of the clinic, and allows the company to always ensure the clinical teams have whatever materials and equipment they desire to deliver only the best private dentistry. Bespoke Smile has its share of challenges, including the pandemic, but it always strives to make the best of the situation, seeing the opportunities that each experience can bring. It has patients at the clinic who have been afraid, or suffered previous dental experiences that they wish to forget – and so the clinic is very much used to seeing the best in things for its patients, even when it may not seem like there are any positives. It believes there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. It is important to the team that it builds relationships with its patients, so it decided during the pandemic that communication channels should remain open although the clinic doors were closed so patients could get in touch by email, phone, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, in addition to video consultations which became available for new patients. The dentists were all on hand at no cost to reassure or advise the clinic’s own patients, as well as new patients who weren’t able to reach out to their own dentists. The clinic was able to triage patient emergencies and direct them to its own dentists, or pharmacies, which meant that the very stretched 111 services had a reduced number of dental phone calls when they needed to be available for more urgent health concerns. Meanwhile, Dr Sam Jethwa and dentist, Dr Gurs Sehmi have both been invited to provide online webinar training for dentists across the world. Over 500 dentists registered for Dr Sam Jethwa’s webinar with The British Academy of Cosmetic Surgery during lockdown on the topic of bespoke hand sculpted trial smiles for porcelain veneers. Bespoke Smile’s award-winning clinicians are well respected across the globe and through the power of technology such as webinars, Instagram Lives, and YouTube, have been able to provide this education free of charge to dentists who also found themselves unable to work in their clinics. The Bespoke Smile Academy has limited numbers of trainees each year, and spaces sell out fast – this way, it has been able to give more dentists the opportunity to learn from Bespoke Smile’s revered dentists within the comfort of their own homes. Company: Bespoke Smile Contact: Sam Jethwa Email: [email protected]