Stars of Aesthetic Dentistry
An article taken from Aesthetic Dentistry Today on receiving the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Aesthetic Dentistry’ award
An outstanding contribution
We find out why Rahul Doshi was presented the Outstanding Contribution to Aesthetic Dentistry accolade at the recent Aesthetic Dentistry Awards 2017
Congratulations on your well-deserved award. How do you feel to have been chosen to receive this accolade?
It feels like a really great reward for all of the hard work and effort that’s been put into our cosmetic dentistry practice. It’s really satisfying to receive it, and really humbling.
I had no idea at all that I was going to receive the award. It was a total shock!
What have been some stand-out moments from your career?
It’s difficult to pinpoint everything! But I’ve learnt a lot from so many people before me. – great inspirations such as David Hornbrook, Frank Spear, John Kois, Larry Rosenthal, Lorenzo Vanini,
Didier Dietschi. And these are just the ones that come to the forefront of my mind.
There have been many people who have guided me in cosmetic dentistry.
FMC as well has provided some fantastic events with some brilliant speakers who I have learned a lot from – some of them have been my mentors who I’ve followed – not just in cosmetic dentistry but in occlusion.
Piecing all of this together over the years has been challenging, but rewarding.
You teach dentists clinical skills through the Advanced Training Institute – how important is teaching for you?
Teaching really changed what I did. Teaching people cosmetic dentistry, you yourself have to become very good at it – for one, to show people what can be done, and two, to be able to answer the questions and queries from the students, you have to be very confident in your own abilities.
That, in turn, increased the quality of dentistry that a provide to my own patients. So actually, teaching and practising dentistry go very well together for me.
Teaching others pushes you to the highest level.
The teaching I do isn’t just lectures and showing what you’re doing for your patient, but also I teach ‘live’, where I treat patients in my practice and have dentists watching me.
The benefit of this is that the dentists can see exactly what I’m doing, and ask important questions, such as, what are the variations of that method? Or, why are you using that technique or material?
I had many people coming on my course who were very experienced, so it was always satisfying to know that these dentists, in particular, had found the course beneficial.
How important has your partnership with your wife, Bhavna, been to you?
Immensely important.
I was very focused on the clinical aspect of dentistry, while Bhavna allows the team to work in a cohesive way. She led the team and attracted the type of patients that allowed me to practise the type of dentistry I wanted to do and allowed me to learn more, and understand more of what I’m doing.
Without that, I would certainly have learnt a lot from others still, but I wouldn’t have had the experience in practice, or even been able to teach. Bhavna is an absolutely vital component.
She attended a lot of courses with me, but her passion was always in the non-clinical aspect of dentistry – in running the practice, building it, and growing it, and that was a huge part of it.
Without a shared vision and a strong partnership, we wouldn’t be able to have got where we wanted to get to.
You’ve been involved in the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry since its inception. How important is the Academy to you?
It’s played a massive role in my life. I learnt a lot from mentors from outside of the UK, but then the BACD started bringing in all of these great speakers to the UK, and not just from the US, but also Europe.
‘Focus on many areas, not just one. It’s beneficial to learn not just clinically, but photography skills for example, and embracing new tools and technologies’
Dentistry has changed now – it’s not the old style of dentistry from years gone by, but there’s now a lot of European and homegrown influence. The BACD has provided that source of knowledge, information and inspiration.
I was there at the outset when the BACD was formed, but I only got involved on the board in the last seven years or so.
I’ve been heavily involved since then. It was a bedrock for me right at the beginning of the Academy, but now I’m trying to ensure that it continues to serve the same benefits as it did for me to other dentists.
One of the visions the BACD has is that all aspects of dentistry can – and should – be cosmetic. What I mean by that, is whether patients have a posterior filling, or a denture, every treatment outcome should be cosmetic, so that patients feel confident and motivated to look after their teeth.
Every tiny aspect of dentistry should be cosmetic.
Do you have any advice for the next generation of cosmetic dentists?
It’s very easy to go into one path of learning and think you’ve learnt it all. But there is so much information out there, and so much knowledge to be gained, you’ve almost got to create a plan or a vision of continuing to increase your knowledge, and never think that you’ve learnt it all.
Focus on many areas, not just one. It’s beneficial to learn not just clinically, but photography skills for example, and embracing new tools and technologies, be it 3D printing or CAD/CAM, or lasers – you can always improve.
Multi-faceted learning will really explode your knowledge on the understanding of cosmetic dentistry, and build your confidence.
Do you have a final message?
I’m very thankful for the Outstanding Achievement to Aesthetic Dentistry award. Cosmetic dentistry is what I do every day, it’s what I enjoy, it’s what I’m passionate about. So to see that other people have acknowledged that, that’s really humbling.
UK Private Dentistry
Award Judges
Dr. Rahul Doshi and Dr. Bhavna Doshi are both eminently involved as Key Opinion Leaders in the Dental Profession. They use their experience and knowledge in their role as National Private Dentistry Award Judges
British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
Dr. Rahul Doshi is President of the BACD. He finds that this institution and its philosophy marry well with his own ethos, especially in the prevention, preservation and conservative nature of clinical dentistry.
Clinical Editor – Premium Practice Dentistry
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