Dentistry is moving into a new digital age and clinicians across the UK are seeking training and support to adopt these technological advances.

Straumann and Implants Centres of Excellence (ICE) recognise this demand and have collaborated to provide a valuable opportunity to see the full range of digital workflow solutions and educational opportunities currently available.

Straumann CARES® Digital Solutions combines interconnected software platforms and open, fully-validated workflows, alongside a wide variety of materials to deliver an unrivalled digital solution. On the 17^th and 18^th July, they will be bringing all this technology to the Old Trafford home of Manchester United on their massive 16-metre long Digital Performance Roadshow juggernaut which houses a full digital workflow.

Nearby at the ICE headquarters and hospital, the Straumann CARES® Digital Solutions portfolio will also be on display, including leading chairside scanning and milling technology and 3D printing, in the impressive ICE facilities which include training surgeries, an operating theatre, a laboratory and lecture facilities.

For a fully immersive experience, attendees can dive into a virtual reality experience, showcasing Straumann’s impressive digital portfolio and centralised manufacturing facilities. The Straumann and ICE team will also be on hand to advise and give a full overview of different product solutions.

Stephen Booth, Country Manager, Straumann UK comments, “We are delighted to be working closely with ICE as this underpins our commitment to facilitating a successful educational pathway for clinicians, whilst delivering the latest innovations and ultimately improving the patients’ quality of life’.”

For the perfect opportunity to gain direct experience of the latest digital products and an insight into the latest training available, book a free place today at straumanndigitalperformance.co.uk

straumanndigitalperformance.co.uk

therevu.co.uk

Facebook: Straumann UK

Twitter: @StraumannUK

Simplyhealth is pleased to announce it has signed another exciting 50/50 Dental Practice Partnership with Cottage Dental Practice in Ormskirk.

The new partnership between Simplyhealth and Cottage Dental Practice (ormskirkdentist.co.uk) will enable the business based at 58 Moor Street, to further develop, grow and continue to serve its local community.

Closely aligned to Simplyhealth’s purpose of helping people make the most of life through better everyday health, Cottage Dental Practice’s philosophy is to prevent dental problems before they occur, thanks to their team of experienced dentists, hygienists, nurses, and surgeons who are dedicated to helping their patients achieve the best possible dental health. They already have strong relationships with their patients, of whom 2400 are already covered by a Denplan payment plan from Simplyhealth Professionals, providing the additional peace of mind of budgeting for their dental treatments.

As part of an ongoing commitment to investment and innovation in the dental market, Simplyhealth’s partnership scheme offers dental practices the opportunity to enter into an equal partnership that plays to the strengths of both parties for their mutual benefit.

The partnership model has been designed to enable dentists to retain day to day clinical management and continue the focus on the quality of care provided with Simplyhealth providing support and expertise in business services, development and patient insights gained from their existing successful Denplan services as well as through helping over 3 million people with their everyday health needs across the group.

The model works well for Practice owners looking for a smooth transition into retirement while wanting to retain responsibility for the day to day decisions and clinical delivery.  They can retain the legacy they have built in the community but are able to realise the value of the practice and make the move into ownership less of a barrier for the new partner.

Raman Sankaran, Chief Commercial Officer of Simplyhealth added: “We’re very pleased to have signed our partnership agreement with Cottage Dental Practice in Ormskirk. They are very much aligned to our purpose of helping people make the most of life through better everyday health and we’re both focussed on helping people achieve this thanks to preventative dental care. We’re looking forward to working with Dr Sunny Lathar and Dr Helen Barlow, supporting them with their strategy so they can provide their patients with the best care possible. True partnerships like this mean we can combine the best of our skills and experience, so more patients can lead happier, healthier lives thanks to better everyday health.”

Principle dentists at Cottage Dental Practice, Dr Sunny Lathar and Dr Helen Barlow explain: "We’re delighted that we’ve entered into this new partnership with Simplyhealth Professionals. After 30 years of practicing dentistry, this new partnership allows us to have in place a structured strategy for the medium to long term, while allowing us to maintain the management and direction of the Practice with the additional support and guidance of Simplyhealth. "

About Simplyhealth
In the world of healthcare, more than anywhere, experience counts. Since 1872 – long before the existence of the NHS – Simplyhealth has been helping people to make the most of life, by managing their everyday health needs.  That’s why today we ensure over 3 million people in the UK have access to the health products, services and support that they need, when they need them and at a price they can afford.

We’re the kind of people who live by our purpose: we’re here to help people make the most of life through better everyday health. We’re proud to be the leading provider of everyday health cash plans, dental payment and pet health plans. And whilst we may be 144 years old, we’re not afraid to innovate. Whereas once we were known purely for cash plans, we now offer a wide range of products and services with one thing in common: an unflinching desire to cater for people’s everyday health needs – now and into the future.

We exist to help people make the most of life through better everyday health. That’s our purpose. We use charitable partnerships to also deliver that purpose, going beyond our products and services, but very much aligned to our business strategy. As a result of our success, in 2016 we were able to donate £1.6m to our charitable causes, supporting 23 different charities including Revitalise, Music in Hospitals, Brainwave Centre and Auditory Verbal, touching the lives of thousands of people across the UK.

Our future success and performance will enable us to deliver our ongoing pledge to donate 10% of our profits to charity every year, supporting health-related charities that share a similar outlook to ours and a dedication to helping people with everyday health challenges make the most of life.

For further information about Simplyhealth please visit www.simplyhealth.co.uk.

Patient Plan Direct client, Dr Wasif Khan, explains how he took the leap into the world of private dentistry

“Before I bought Holmes Chapel Dental Practice around 10 years ago, I had been working as an associate for several years carrying out private dentistry. I had undertaken extensive post-graduate study and was really enjoying the work I was doing, but I wanted to take the next step in my career to become a practice owner. Holmes Chapel Dental Practice came with an NHS contract and, although this was a very different set up to what I had become used to, I decided to work with it, with a view to adding a private side in the future.

“Over the years my team and I have worked hard to develop the practice, but whilst I was able to maintain a degree of private work, there has always been that longing for me to return fully to private dentistry. With falling revenues and the constant treadmill of UDAs, targets and restrictions that we all face under the NHS, I decided that after 10 years, the time had come to focus on providing a private service. I also wanted to slow down a little while practising better quality, varied dentistry; I needed to push myself to get out of the rut that I felt I was in, and I wanted the same for my team, too.

“We had been building up to make the move towards a more private offering for around two years, so none of it came as a surprise to the team; I wanted to do my research and groundwork first to make sure I would take the right steps to make things work. We decided that my two associates and dental therapist would continue to provide dentistry under the NHS, as well as private work, while I went fully private. The idea was to boost revenue in order to ensure not just staff retention, but also team growth and skill-set development, increased choice of materials and possible expansion and renovation in the future – things that I just could not consider while working on an NHS contract. Additionally, I was really looking forward to getting back to doing the dentistry I love and gaining more fulfilment from my work again.

“I have friends in their own practices who have incorporated a dental plan, and I had seen them in action during my time as an associate, so implementing one into the practice was always my intention. For me, it was vital that the provider I chose to partner with offered lots of support, because I had never carried out an NHS to private conversion as a practice owner and wanted to have the reassurance that there would be help available if I needed it. I met with a few different companies to get a feel for what and who would work best for me and decided to go with Patient Plan Direct as their service is great value for money and I also liked them on a personal level. They are a smaller company and the individuals who work there are very down to earth and easy to get on with. On top of that, I really like their online portal and the fact that I was able to integrate the option of patient plan sign up via my website, too.

“The first step was to write to our patients to let them know about the changes. This is where our main challenge cropped up as I was finding that subsequent take up of the plan was quite slow. Theresa Riley, business development manager from Patient Plan Direct, was a huge help in this area. She came in to the practice and gave our reception team lots of training on how to discuss the plan and give patients options. None of it is about a hard sell, it’s all just about letting people know what is available to them and allowing them to choose what is best for their own needs, which fits perfectly in line with our own business ethos.

“Theresa also took a look at our letter, reworded it to make it more patient friendly and suggested that we add some more plan options to keep the choice more varied for patients, rather than just the one plan we were originally offering. All of her help provided us with the tools and knowledge we needed to make the difference. It took some time to convince and educate some of the staff that this was the only way we could progress the practice, but now all of the team have embraced the methods Theresa discussed during her training and they are all fully on board. This external input from Patient Plan Direct made a huge difference to us, so I definitely feel that I made the right choice when selecting which plan provider to go with, particularly considering Patient Plan Direct’s admin fees are so much lower than other providers ensuring we retain more of our plan income.

“I’m really pleased with how things have worked out. The team is focused and consolidated in our aims and we have also changed the infrastructure within the practice to accommodate private patients in reception and in a separate waiting area, which has created a unique patient pathway. The overall reaction from patients has been very positive, with many commenting that we should have done this years ago! I have no regrets about making the move towards a more private dental offering; I have achieved a much better work-life balance as it has allowed me to cut back on my hours, while still remaining busy during my ‘dental’ days, and my private patient list is ever increasing. I have to put a lot of this success down to incorporating a plan and doing the research into choosing the right provider for me, the support from patient Plan Direct has been second to none!”

Wasif Khan is the principal dentist and owner of Holmes Chapel Dental Practice in Cheshire.

Patient Plan Direct offers a low cost, simple, flexible and practice-branded solution to running patient payment plans, with a focus on delivering first-class support and expert advice to ensure you reach your plan objectives. For more information please visit www.patientplandirect.com email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 0844 848 6888.