New Year, New Start

This year has ended with some real positive news.  I have been in successful negotiations to significantly reduce the refurbishment costs and I have finally managed to secure some funding for the project.  It has been extremely difficult to overcome the current paralysis and lack of decision-making in the current financial market.  I know I have a good plan and I can't wait to get started.

As always nothing is set in stone and I am sure that I will have many twists and turns on the way.  However, I now feel that this big boulder I have been trying to push up a hill is reaching the summit and I will soon been racing down the other side.  Until we actually start, it is impossible to predict when we shall finish, but Easter will be in April 2009 and who knows.

Frustration

The plans have been finalised; I am happy with the design produced by Genus Interiors and the dental equipment sourced through Blueprint Dental will be first rate.  The new practice website is being developed, although it has been slow progress but everything has now stalled.

The protracted negotiations over the lease has meant that I am now caught up in the current financial maelstrom and the banks have changed their situation somewhat.  It is like pushing a boulder up a hill, as I am getting near the top people keep adding extra weights; however, as soon as I reach the summit progress is going to be rapid.

A New Beginning

At long last I have completed on the Lease and I have now started to plan for the refurbishment and creating my vision for the new practice.  It has been a busy couple of weeks, with an excellent BSGDS Conference (www.bsgds.com) in Jersey, which was informative and enjoyable.  I was particularly delighted to be voted in as President Elect for 2009/2010.

The builders have suggested that it will take about 9 weeks to complete the refurbishment, a week to install the dental equipment and a couple of weeks for team training, so we shall probably start seeing patients in January 2009.

First Steps

It has finally happened; at long last I have signed the lease for the property in Leamington. Unfortunately, this isn't quite the finally hurdle and I gather there yet more legal hoops before I get to complete, but we have made significant progress.  We now move on to the exciting part and I get to design my perfect practice.

The aim remains as "excellence in dentistry", the tricky part of the process is creating the right environment.  Genus Interiors have done a fantastic job with the plans and have really managed to interpret my vision for the practice.  The next stage is to translate a vision and the plans into reality.

I am fast approaching my final week working for James Hull Associates in Birmingham; it has been an enjoyable 4 years and I have had the privilege of working with an excellent team.  I have been able to continue to develop my skills in cosmetic and implant dentistry and I have undertaken some remarkable cases, restoring their smiles and providing them with life-changing self-confidence.

I now have some draft plans for Augusta Place and I am getting down to the sort of detail that will ensure the practice looks and works exactly how I want it to.  This has involved browsing through a lot of equipment catalogues, but also a visit to the Ultradent factory in Munich.  However, most importantly I have packed my bags and loaded the car ready to take the children camping for a long weekend in Woolacombe.

Holiday Time

We have just returned from a most marvellous break in the Outer Hebrides; you don't usually go to the Western Isles for the weather, but it was good enough to allow the children to play on the beach on most days.  Life in the Hebrides was quite a contrast from the commute into London or Birmingham and I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet pace of life; rarely have I felt so relaxed on holiday.  However, the 8 hour wait at Glasgow Airport on the journey home got me back into the swing of things.

Initial Thoughts

One of the problems with working as an associate for someone else is that things don't always get done the way I want them to be done.  I firmly believe in excellence in dentistry, using the best techniques and the best materials to achieve high quality dental care.  However, a practice must never lose sight of meeting the patient's expectations and delivering top-notch customer service.  I think the only way to meet the high standards I want to achieve, is to run my own practice.

It has taken 2 years of research and looking, but I finally think I have found a fantastic property for the new practice in Leamington Spa.  I am in the final stages of negotiation over the lease , and I am in the equally exciting and terrifying process of design and planning. Just how do I want the practice to look? 

Welcome to Augusta Dental Practice

Welcome to Augusta Dental Practice

Roy Dixon