Dental Leaders Podcast

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• #346 First Principles — Henry Totterdell 10.06.2026 1год 25хв

  What happens when a mechanical engineer spends a decade fixing factories, then walks away from it all to start dental school at 34? Henry Totterdell joins Payman to tell that story. He talks about the years spent solving problems on aircraft carriers and chemotherapy production lines, the slow-burning itch to do something with his hands, and why he finally took the plunge. Along the way they get into first principles, the magic of human connection over Zoom, where robots might fit into the chair one day, and the quiet privilege of a patient simply saying thank you. It's a conversation about taking the long way round — and arriving exactly where you meant to.In This Episode00:01:55 - Travel and adventure 00:05:20 - Childhood in Stroud 00:06:15 - Choosing engineering 00:07:35 - Loughborough years 00:08:45 - Engineering versus dentistry 00:10:00 - First principles thinking 00:12:10 - Life as a consultant 00:17:15 - Losing his purpose 00:18:35 - The pharmaceutical world 00:21:00 - The itch to do medicine 00:22:15 - Working with his hands 00:23:50 - The leap to dental school 00:31:50 - The Innovations Hub 00:36:05 - First extraction 00:38:40 - Blackbox thinking 00:43:45 - Starting a business 00:44:55 - Lectures that stuck 00:48:10 - What makes a course brilliant 00:50:25 - The magic of being in the room 00:52:15 - Soft skills and integrity 00:54:20 - Reading the patient 00:57:45 - Regrets 01:01:45 - Robots in the chair 01:06:00 - Relentless optimism 01:06:45 - Darkest days 01:10:20 - Nervous patients 01:13:40 - Awards and recognition 01:16:20 - Confidence and family 01:18:35 - Fantasy dinner party 01:20:45 - Last days and legacyAbout Henry TotterdellHenry Totterdell is a third-year dental student at Bristol, having come to dentistry after a decade as a mechanical engineer and consultant. A Loughborough graduate, he worked across defence, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing before retraining at 34. Alongside his studies he runs a Dental Innovations Hub at Bristol, introducing students to the technology and business side of dentistry that the course doesn't cover.
• #345 Do the Thing — Ali Al-Hassan 03.06.2026 2год 2хв

  Ali Al-Hassan is the walking embodiment of work hard, play hard — a young dentist who's gone from associate to super associate, practice co-owner and globe-trotter, all while building a following that brings patients straight to his chair. In this episode, he and Payman get into what really separates an ordinary associate from a "super" one: bringing in your own patients, owning your fees, and treating social media as your digital shop front. There's honest talk about outworking self-doubt, the awards debate, a vexatious GDC referral that came out of nowhere, and a wild Covid-era trading story that took a £50k bounce-back loan to seven figures and most of the way back down again. Threaded throughout is a simple philosophy — do the thing, do it thousands of times, and let it compound. You'll come away with plenty to think about, whether you're weighing up your own brand or just wondering how one person fits in this much living.In This Episode00:02:30 - Work hard, play hard 00:08:10 - Growing up and family 00:14:30 - The inflection point 00:17:30 - Associate vs super associate 00:24:40 - Social media and the first Invisalign open day 00:33:15 - Tenacity and outworking self-doubt 00:39:05 - Niching down 00:49:50 - Cornerstones of safe GDP ortho 00:53:50 - Blackbox thinking 00:59:30 - The GDC referral 01:08:45 - Compounding and word of mouth 01:09:45 - Dental Opulence 01:18:55 - The awards debate 01:25:35 - Travel and friendships 01:29:25 - Working with Robbie 01:32:05 - The Covid trading story 01:42:25 - Examinations and case acceptance 01:48:05 - Composite bonding approach 01:54:50 - Finishing teeth upside down 01:56:25 - Fantasy dinner party 02:00:25 - Last days and legacyAbout Ali Al-HassanAli Al-Hassan, known online as Doctor Ali, is a Cardiff-trained dentist working across practices in Swindon, the Midlands and London, with a focus on Invisalign and composite. He's a super associate who built his patient base through years of consistent social media, and co-owns the Dental Opulence clinic in the Midlands. Away from the chair, he travels monthly, invests, and is renovating a house back home in Swindon.
• #344 The Package Deal — Ashley King & Sophie Lovett 27.05.2026 1год 57хв

  Ashley King and Sophie Lovett run the international side of Pearl, the AI company that reads dental radiographs — and they turn up as a self-confessed package deal. The chat starts with what the tech actually does (a second opinion for clinicians, and a way to help patients finally see what's going on in their own mouths), but it doesn't stay there for long. Payman, Ashley and Sophie get into US versus UK dentistry, the state of the NHS, why trust beats price every time, and how AI is creeping into everyday work. Then it gets personal: women and AI, the awkwardness of asking for a pay rise, what happens when a woman out-earns her partner, and whether having children is selfless or selfish. Honest, funny and occasionally controversial — this one wanders well beyond the X-ray.In This Episode00:00:50 - Life at a start-up 00:02:20 - Life on the road 00:04:35 - Distributors or your own office 00:06:05 - What Pearl does 00:09:30 - Accuracy and limits 00:10:45 - A controversial take 00:12:45 - AI and the future 00:18:35 - A cottage industry 00:21:20 - US vs UK dentistry 00:24:40 - NHS vs private 00:30:20 - Getting set up 00:34:00 - The price 00:35:40 - Why trust is everything 00:37:45 - The word "sell" 00:40:35 - Living in London 00:46:50 - The worst of America 00:51:50 - Politics 00:56:05 - AI in their own work 01:00:50 - Women and AI 01:02:30 - The pay rise problem 01:05:20 - The gender pay gap 01:08:25 - Femininity as power 01:11:00 - Relationships and self-reliance 01:13:55 - Children01:16:30 - Out-earning a partner 01:25:10 - "I'm just a hygienist" 01:26:30 - Business influences 01:33:50 - Biggest business mistakes 01:38:40 - Competitors and USP 01:45:40 - Guilty pleasures 01:49:05 - Fantasy dinner party 01:54:00 - Ministry of SoundAbout Ashley King & Sophie LovettAshley King leads international partnerships at Pearl, having started out in dental back in 2018 at VOCO; she's from North Carolina and now calls London home. Sophie Lovett heads up Pearl's international market development and, despite only three years in dentistry, talks the clinical language like a native. The two are best friends as much as colleagues — which is exactly why they turned up to record together.
• #343 Serendipity — Tara Renton 20.05.2026 2год 10хв

  Professor Tara Renton OBE brings four generations of dental history — and a career built on curiosity rather than ambition — to her conversation with Payman. From navigating undiagnosed dyslexia and a father who begged her not to follow him into dentistry, to becoming the first female chair of oral surgery at King's College London, her story is one of serendipity, resilience, and an almost obsessive interest in the patient behind the pain. She shares remarkable insights into orofacial pain — nerve injuries, psychosocial histories, patients whose chronic pain only begins to shift when someone finally takes the time to ask the right question — and makes a compelling case for multidisciplinary thinking in a profession she feels has been far too siloed for far too long. Sharp reflections on surgical safety, local anaesthetic technique, and the state of dental education sit alongside something warmer: a life philosophy that's disarmingly simple. Stay curious.In This Episode00:02:50 - Four generations of dentists00:06:05 - Child dental health crisis00:07:20 - New grandmother00:10:00 - Choosing dentistry00:17:05 - Serendipity over ambition00:37:15 - The juggle: three kids and a PhD00:41:00 - Bullying and misogyny in surgery00:44:45 - King's: first chair in oral surgery00:47:35 - Multidisciplinary pain clinic00:49:25 - The Iranian patient00:56:00 - Trust underpins consent01:00:00 - Classifying orofacial pain01:07:05 - When grief resolves chronic pain01:12:15 - Blackbox thinking01:17:00 - Local anaesthetic tips01:22:00 - Wrong site surgery01:25:30 - Dental student selection01:27:15 - Redesigning the dental course01:47:50 - Bruxism: rethinking the evidence01:50:15 - Fantasy dinner party01:53:45 - Last days and legacyAbout Professor Tara Renton OBEProfessor Tara Renton OBE is Emeritus Professor of Oral Surgery at King's College London Dental Institute, where she became the first female chair of oral surgery — and one of the world's leading authorities on orofacial pain and nerve injury. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, she has authored over 250 research papers, completed a PhD centred on morbidity following third molar surgery, established a pioneering multidisciplinary pain clinic at King's, and carried out extensive medico-legal work in surgical safety. She is the co-founder of the patient resource orofacialpain.org.uk.
• #342 Looking for the Edge — Mike Gray 13.05.2026 1год 53хв

  Mike Gray's path to dentistry was anything but straightforward — and that's precisely what makes this conversation so compelling. A former semi-professional mountain biker who raced the World Series across three disciplines, a musician who once had the head of Universal Publishing sitting in his living room in rural Wales, and a dentist who spent years doing everything he could to avoid dentistry, Mike has lived several lives before arriving at the one he clearly loves. Payman and Mike cover the full sweep — grief, therapy, surgical war stories, and an obsessive, self-taught approach to digital restorative dentistry that culminates in his POISE Protocol: a no-prep veneer workflow that he believes makes truly minimally invasive ceramics available to the vast majority of patients, not just a lucky five per cent.In This Episode00:00:55 – Introductions and first impressions00:01:20 – Mountain biking career00:09:15 – A friend's suicide, guilt and stepping back from maxfax00:12:15 – Therapy00:14:10 – Life on the World Series circuit00:19:25 – From maxfax to music00:28:10 – Blackbox thinking00:33:45 – Music career — Alabama Three, Peppa Pig and Covid00:49:25 – NHS dentistry debate00:51:50 – Falling in love with dentistry00:54:40 – Self-taught restorative and the digital workflow01:00:25 – Ditching the articulator01:01:20 – Prototypes, not temporaries01:05:10 – Into implants01:11:00 – Compassion fatigue01:13:40 – POISE protocol and no-prep ceramics01:25:10 – The Lodge and the course01:29:05 – Resilience and failure01:34:20 – Practice ownership01:41:10 – Instagram01:49:20 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Mike GrayMike Gray is a dentist based in Wales, working at Parkway Clinic in Swansea and The Lodge — a referral and education centre where he hosts his sold-out POISE Protocol course on minimally invasive ceramic veneers. His background spans maxillofacial surgery, semi-professional mountain biking at World Series level, and a music career that attracted interest from Universal Publishing and, improbably, Peppa Pig. He teaches himself CAD, machines his own surgical instruments, and has spent five years developing a digital workflow for no-prep ceramic restorations that he believes renders feldspathic and heavy preparation largely redundant.
• #341 Underestimated — Rawa Jawad Quinn 06.05.2026 1год 54хв

  Rawa Jawad Quinn is a dentist-turned-tech founder whose restless energy and refusal to be underestimated have shaped every chapter of her career. In this episode, she tells Payman about growing up in Chelsea after her Iraqi family fled Kuwait with nothing, studying in Liverpool, and working across 16 dental practices before channelling her frustrations into Medicube — a consent and patient communication platform built to give associates the consistency they've never had. The conversation takes some wonderfully unexpected detours into quantum physics, telepathy, AI-driven futures and the spiritual experiences that Rawa can't quite explain but absolutely trusts. There's also plenty of practical wisdom on occlusion, practice culture and what it really takes to bootstrap a dental tech start-up while raising a three-year-old without a nanny.In This Episode00:00:45 – Introduction and welcome00:01:25 – Growing up on the Kings Road and childhood in Chelsea00:03:30 – Studying dentistry in Liverpool and reinvention00:07:00 – Dyslexia diagnosis and learning differently00:10:10 – The itch beyond dentistry00:14:00 – Fleeing Kuwait, starting over in the UK00:16:25 – Why her parents' medical careers put her off medicine00:18:05 – Ambition, being underestimated and self-belief00:23:15 – Spirituality, connectedness and trusting intuition00:26:10 – Wanting it all — motherhood, marriage and a start-up00:31:00 – Lessons from 16 dental practices00:36:25 – Working in corporates and at Bupa00:41:20 – NHS vs private practice00:45:15 – The birth of Medicube00:48:30 – How Medicube works and pilot results00:55:55 – Finding a co-founder and the UCL connection00:58:50 – Funding through grants, awards and bootstrapping01:03:25 – AI, the Turing test and the future of work01:10:25 – Robots, relationships and what makes us human01:22:55 – Physics, multiverse theory and keeping an open mind01:28:40 – Blackbox thinking01:33:40 – A patient with buyer's remorse after crown preps01:36:55 – Occlusion, full mouth rehabs and the Dawson Academy01:43:20 – Tech conferences and the reality of being a founder01:47:05 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Rawa Jawad QuinnRawa Jawad Quinn is a dentist based in Belfast, currently working at Bupa, with a particular interest in full mouth rehabilitation cases. She is also the co-founder of Medicube, a dental tech platform that streamlines consent, treatment planning and patient communication. Rawa trained at the Dawson Academy and Chris Hall's programme, and has worked across 16 practices spanning NHS, private and corporate settings.
• #340 Exit at the Peak — Andy Acton 29.04.2026 1год 36хв

  Andy Acton returns to the Dental Leaders hot seat for a proper deep-cut conversation about the business of owning a dental practice — from first purchase right through to the exit. Payman and Andy cover the current market (spoiler: banks still love dentists, and buyers far outnumber sellers), before getting into the real meat of the episode: owner fatigue. Andy breaks down the five categories of burnout he's observed across 25 years of working with practice owners, and it's the kind of honest, unglamorous stuff that rarely gets aired. There's also a brilliant success story about a single-surgery practice that became a near-£2 million sale in four years, plus some sharp advice on what not to do in your first month of ownership. Whether you're thinking about buying, selling, or just trying to work out why you're so tired, this one's well worth your time.In This Episode00:00:50 – Andy's business portfolio and the FTA family of companies 00:03:10 – Market snapshot: supply, demand and the state of play in December 2025 00:04:15 – Squats vs acquisitions 00:07:35 – What buyers are really looking for 00:10:15 – Occupancy levels and the case for maximising before expanding 00:13:10 – Corporates vs independents: deal structures and flexibility 00:17:10 – Patient attrition when the owner leaves 00:20:25 – Horror stories and success stories: flipping practices 00:28:15 – Young dentists buying early and the bank of mum and dad 00:31:05 – Would Andy encourage his kids to become dentists? 00:33:20 – Owner fatigue: five categories of burnout 00:35:25 – How valuation methods have evolved over 25 years 00:42:45 – Raising finance and banking terms 00:45:45 – The ownership lifecycle and signs of fatigue 00:55:55 – Sales readiness: the checklist 01:05:30 – Business education and the case for teaching it at school 01:13:05 – Understanding financial accounts and key KPIs 01:18:25 – Quick-fire: favourite business book, business hero, and the green lights philosophy 01:25:15 – Dental leaders who inspire Andy 01:32:25 – Fly on the wall moment: the Man United treble changing roomAbout Andy ActonAndy Acton is co-founder of Frank Taylor Associates, one of the UK's leading dental practice sales and valuation firms. Alongside his business partner Chris, Andy has built a portfolio of dental-focussed businesses, including FTA Finance, FTA Media, FTA Wealth, and the Principals Club — a members-only community for independent practice owners. He has worked in the dental sector for over 25 years.
• Mind Movers #49 — Vanita Rattan 24.04.2026 1год 7хв

  In this lively and layered episode of Mind Movers, Vanita Rattan joins Rhona and Payman to talk about medicine, entrepreneurship, motherhood and the sheer force of personality it takes to build something different. She traces her path from UCL medical school to formulating skincare for skin of colour, then opening clinics around the world before Covid forced a brutal pivot into social media and direct-to-consumer growth. What follows is not just a business story. It is a conversation about dyslexia, immigrant pressure, obsession, sacrifice, miscarriage, ambition and the cost of always operating in warrior mode. Honest, sharp and occasionally uncomfortable, this one goes well beyond skincare.In This Episode00:01:15 - Medicine to formulation00:02:05 - Building global clinics00:05:05 - Covid and the pivot00:06:20 - Community over following00:10:25 - Crisis mode and grit00:15:00 - Opportunity cost thinking00:20:15 - Dyslexia and determination00:27:25 - Business, children and sacrifice00:31:00 - Money, ambition and power00:56:25 - Miscarriage and autopilotAbout Vanita RattanVanita Rattan is a medical doctor, cosmetic formulator and entrepreneur focused on skincare for skin of colour. After qualifying in medicine at UCL, she trained in formulation, built the Hyperpigmentation Clinic into an international business, and later grew a highly engaged skincare brand through education-led content and direct community input. She is known for combining science, straight talking and a clear mission to serve women who have long been overlooked by mainstream beauty.
• #339 Crack On — Ali Hashemizadeh 22.04.2026 1год 32хв

  At just 27, Ali Hashemizadeh is doing things most dentists twice his age haven't managed — two private associate roles, a growing reputation as an endodontist, and the kind of self-awareness that usually takes a decade to develop. In this episode, Payman sits down with the Newcastle-based, Aberdeen-raised, Iranian dentist to trace the path from a rocky first year on the NHS to finding his feet in private practice. Ali talks candidly about the complaint that rocked him early in his career, the perspective shift it forced, and why he's genuinely glad it happened. It's a conversation about curiosity, resilience, and the quiet power of just cracking on.In This Episode00:00:50 – Introduction: Ali Hashemizadeh00:03:45 – Lifelong learning00:07:25 – The future of dental events00:14:30 – Optimism as a work philosophy00:15:35 – NHS complaint, first job00:19:40 – Resilience and perspective00:21:10 – Going private early00:22:25 – Becoming the endo guy00:25:55 – Generalist or specialist?00:26:50 – The disease of the twenties00:28:30 – Iranian roots in Aberdeen00:38:15 – Foundation year in London00:40:55 – Outdoor pursuits and Ironman training00:46:10 – CBCT and safe-ended files00:50:05 – Endo, implants and aesthetics under one roof00:52:00 – Treatment coordinators and ethical selling00:57:15 – The value of mentorship00:59:00 – Networking and landing the jobs01:02:55 – The two practices compared01:07:35 – Lucas Lassman and the most inspiring lecture01:10:40 – Dental resources: YouTube and Instagram01:15:10 – Being Mortal and Man's Search for Meaning01:16:30 – Modern Wisdom and guilty pleasures01:22:35 – Ten-year plan01:27:40 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Ali HashemizadehAli Hashemizadeh is a 27-year-old private associate dentist working across two practices in the northeast of England — Middleton Saint George Dental in Darlington and Ken Harris's clinic in Sunderland — where he has developed a particular focus on endodontics. Born and raised in Aberdeen to Iranian parents, he qualified from Newcastle University and completed his foundation year in London before heading back north.
• #338 Show, Don’t Tell — Grant Goodstein 15.04.2026 1год 37хв

  Grant Goodstein isn't a dentist — and that might be exactly why this episode is so refreshing. An American tech exec turned practice owner, Grant moved to London for love (a Hannah Montana-inspired trip to LA, a dating app, and a last-minute Vegas concert, if you can believe it) and ended up buying a mixed NHS practice in Fulham with his wife, Leah. What follows is a masterclass in what happens when someone with zero clinical background but serious business chops walks into a neighbourhood dental practice and starts asking, "What do patients actually want?" From GBT machines and AI phone systems to living wage accreditation and obsessing over Wi-Fi signal strength in the toilet, Grant's approach is equal parts Silicon Valley hustle and genuine community spirit.In This Episode00:01:00 – Meeting Leah: dating apps, Hannah Montana and a spontaneous trip to Vegas00:06:15 – London vs Los Angeles00:08:25 – Growing up sports-obsessed and working for Michigan basketball00:13:10 – Coaching rituals and building team enthusiasm00:15:25 – Buying the practice: staff turnover, evolution vs revolution00:19:35 – Practice valuations then and now00:22:05 – Listening to patients and expanding hygiene00:26:10 – Running a mixed practice: the case for keeping NHS00:32:20 – Growing Invisalign from 20 to 100 cases a year00:34:10 – Genuine interest, patient conversations and the "daughter test"00:36:10 – The search for the right practice00:41:20 – Nervous patients and the patient experience00:43:35 – Investing in GBT and premium hygiene00:49:40 – Learning when and how to say no00:55:25 – Tech stack: CareStack, VoIP, AI transcription and remote hiring01:02:45 – Reception as a revenue driver01:06:25 – Training, role plays and AI for SOPs01:09:20 – High-performing teams: sports analogies in practice01:11:30 – Blackbox thinking01:15:20 – Refurb lessons and driving urgency01:18:50 – Finding purpose after tech burnout01:21:15 – Favourite business books01:24:50 – Fantasy dinner party01:31:15 – Leah's fearless flyer course and treating nervous patientsAbout Grant Goodstein Grant Goodstein is the managing director of Pearly Whites dental practice in Fulham, London, which he co-owns with his wife, dentist Leah Goodstein. A University of Michigan economics graduate, Grant previously worked in tech — including a stint at Twitter — before moving to the UK and channelling his business background into practice ownership.
• #337 Extraordinary Experiences — Mehy Lo Presti 08.04.2026 1год 50хв

  Mehy Lo Presti joins Payman on the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation that's equal parts origin story and quiet manifesto. Raised in the heartland of La Mancha by a Palestinian father and Italian mother, Mehy arrived in London in 2015 with barely any English, no NHS number, and — as it turns out — very little interest in following the conventional path. He's since built a reputation not just as a restorative associate but as one of dentistry's most creative event and experience designers, currently channelling that energy into Dent Town, a major immersive dental conference launching this September. The conversation ranges freely across the fear culture surrounding the GDC, the science of patient experience design, and the painful economics of putting on events that are actually good — before landing somewhere unexpectedly personal, as Mehy opens up about the impact of October 7th on his family and his mental health in the weeks surrounding his daughter's birth.In This Episode00:00:55 - Introductions00:01:50 - The outsider mentality00:03:05 - Palestinian-Italian roots and growing up in La Mancha00:07:15 - On parenting and giving children freedom00:10:30 - Problems with conventional education00:30:55 - GDC fear culture vs Spain00:37:10 - Moving to London from scratch00:40:20 - First steps in private practice00:41:25 - Master's in aesthetic restorative dentistry at King's00:43:20 - College of Extraordinary Experiences00:48:00 - Patient Experience Design00:49:30 - Designing the ideal squat00:52:55 - Reception as the heart of the practice01:02:10 - Google reviews and the "feel" factor01:04:05 - Associate vs clinic owner01:09:15 - The economics of running events01:17:15 - Events mistakes01:20:50 - Blackbox thinking01:25:00 - Setting patient expectations01:29:20 - Favourite resources01:32:05 - Fantasy dinner party01:36:25 - October 7th, Gaza, and personal impact01:43:00 - Faith, karma, and identityAbout Mehy Lo PrestiMehy Lo Presti is a London-based associate dentist with a master's degree in aesthetic and restorative dentistry from King's College London, currently practising at The Kensington Dentist. A son of Palestinian and Italian parents who met in Egypt and settled in Spain, he grew up in La Mancha before relocating to London in 2015. He is probably best known as the creative force behind Global Dental Collective and the Dental Rama brand, and is now co-founder of Denttown — an immersive two-day dental conference launching in September 2026.
• #336 Boss Moves: Doing Good by Doing Well — Andy Sloan 01.04.2026 1год 41хв

  Prav is back in the host's chair for a conversation that's quite literally close to home — Andy Sloan is his boss. Andy is the MD of Agilio, the dental software and compliance platform, and a man who has overseen well over a hundred practice acquisitions throughout his career. But before any of that, he was a council house kid from the Wirral, running paper rounds at 14, pulling pints at 18, and somehow landing — by his own admission — in dentistry entirely by accident. This episode traces that unlikely path through hospitality, banking, accountancy and private equity, unpicking the one constant that runs through all of it: relationships. Andy opens up about the dark periods too — fertility struggles, the pressure of simultaneous transactions, and the moments where burnout lurked closer than he'd care to admit. Honest, warm and genuinely self-aware, it's a cracking listen—or catch the video on whichever platform you usually get your weekly Dental Leaders dose.In This Episode00:00:20 - Introducing Andy Sloan - Prav's boss 00:02:15 - Early life00:12:10 - Hospitality years00:26:40 - Meeting Lynette; buying the pub00:27:00 - Banking and sales00:38:15 - Into dentistry — DBG00:43:50 - Henry Schein Business Solutions and Europe00:46:45 - Portman Dental00:59:05 - Joining Julio; building the tribe01:04:00 - Julio's growth — 17 acquisitions in under five years01:07:35 - Relationships as the common thread01:13:20 - Blackbox thinking01:15:45 - Practice valuations — the levers that matter01:27:25 - Dark moments01:34:55 - Julio's future and the Dental OS vision01:37:10 - Dentistry Reimagined01:41:25 - Last days and legacyAbout Andy SloanAndy Sloan is the Managing Director of Agilio, the dental software and compliance group that has completed 17 acquisitions in under five years. His career spans hospitality, banking, private equity and dental M&A — including a spell as Business Development Director at Portman Dental Care, where he oversaw the acquisition of more than 120 practices. He is also the founder of Dentistry Reimagined, an independent industry event focused on the conversations dentistry has been too cautious to have.
• #335 Hard Reset — Zain Remy 25.03.2026 1год 51хв

  This week, Payman sits down with Zain Remy, a Newcastle-based practice owner whose path to dentistry was anything but straightforward. After missing out on dental school the first time round, Zain took the pharmacology route, grafted his way through eight years of study, and eventually qualified from King's College London in 2016. What followed was a decade of pivotal decisions — a golden handshake from a corporate, a restorative diploma that nearly cost him his job, and a mental health crisis serious enough to land him in hospital for two months.Rather than shy away from any of it, Zain unpacks each chapter with an honesty that's genuinely refreshing. By October 2023, he'd bought his own private practice in Newcastle — and the lessons he's drawn from every stumble along the way are, frankly, worth the listen alone.In This Episode00:00:50 - Introduction00:01:35 - Growing up in London00:02:00 - Dad the dental technician00:04:40 - Dental school reflections00:14:45 - The pharmacology detour00:20:30 - Heading northeast00:22:40 - Foundation year00:24:20 - The corporate golden handshake00:30:05 - Restorative diploma and CPD00:40:05 - Burnout00:43:05 - Mental health crisis00:50:35 - Recovery and talking therapy00:57:25 - Buying the practice01:00:30 - Practice ownership: the hard reality01:05:10 - The associate–principal relationship01:10:25 - Social media as a clinical tool01:16:05 - Diary of Dental Practice Owners01:20:15 - The awards debate01:29:35 - Hiring and firing01:33:05 - Blackbox thinking01:40:05 - Fantasy dinner party01:44:30 - Favourite and least favourite treatments01:46:10 - Future visionAbout Zain RemyZain Remy is a dental practice owner based in Newcastle, who qualified from King's College London in 2016 after first completing a pharmacology degree. Having worked across NHS and mixed practices in the northeast, he acquired his own fully private practice in October 2023. He holds a postgraduate diploma in restorative dentistry and runs the Diary of Dental Practice Owners community on Facebook, offering an unfiltered look at life as an independent practice principal.
• #334 A Little Jesus — JW Oliver 18.03.2026 1год 16хв

  This week, Payman chats with JW Oliver — serial entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and the man behind Support DDS, the largest dental insourcing company in the US. JW's story begins well below the poverty line in Texas and winds through dental equipment, bankruptcy, and a fateful meeting at a Christian marriage conference that led him to Zimbabwe — and ultimately to building a 1,700-strong operation across Africa and Costa Rica.It's a conversation about purpose, resilience, and why answering the phone might be the most underrated skill in dentistry. Along the way, JW opens up about faith, failure, fatherhood, and why giving away 51% of your profits doesn't feel nearly as crazy once the cheques start to mean something.In This Episode00:00:40 - Welcome and introductions00:02:00 - Growing up poor; early entrepreneurial instinct00:04:50 - From dental equipment to Zimbabwe; the chance meeting that started Zim Works00:09:00 - Purpose over profit; donating 51% and building a philanthropy operation00:12:20 - Insourcing vs outsourcing; what Support DDS actually does00:19:30 - A typical UK dental practice use case; why unanswered calls kill marketing spend00:25:00 - The real challenge; onboarding, training timelines, and setting expectations00:28:10 - Faith; how it evolved, when it was tested, and the summer of 199400:40:25 - Blackbox thinking; not reacting fast enough to a changing market00:43:20 - Resilience as both superpower and blind spot; when to hold, when to fold00:51:15 - Writing books; creative process, ghostwriting, and books as authority tools01:00:10 - Immigration, assimilation, and understanding the other side01:08:50 - Fantasy dinner party01:11:00 - Darkest day; bankruptcy, Disney, and a wife who said "I trust you"01:13:55 - Treating everyone the same; from the excellence team to the C-suiteAbout JW OliverJW Oliver is a serial entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist based between Texas and Zimbabwe. He is the founder of Zim Works and Support DDS — the largest dental insourcing company in the United States — which employs over 1,700 people across Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Costa Rica, and donates 51% of its profits to charitable causes. A former dental equipment entrepreneur turned global business builder, JW is driven as much by faith and purpose as by commercial ambition.
• #333 The Four Pillars — Mike Hesketh 11.03.2026 2год 28хв

  What happens when a Royal Marine Commando dentist who spent six months being ambushed on every patrol in Helmand Province turns his hand to building dental businesses? You get Mike Hesketh: serial practice owner, consultant, and one of the more quietly formidable figures in UK dentistry. In this episode, Payman sits down with Mike to trace a story that runs from a North Wales council estate and the loss of his father at eight years old, through the front lines of Afghanistan, to a 10x practice exit and the creation of Dartmoor Dental — a 200-year-old manor house turned thriving, NHS-inclusive, ten-surgery practice. Mike talks with real candour about the four pillars he uses to build and consult on dental businesses, why he treats his NHS contract as a social obligation rather than a commercial one, and how the Royal Marines' mantra ‘cheerfulness in the face of adversity’ translates surprisingly well to practice ownership.In This Episode00:02:00 — Growing up in North Wales; losing his father at eight00:07:40 — Deploying to Helmand Province with 40 Commando Royal Marines00:12:05 — Leaving the military; getting ripped off on day one as a civilian dentist00:13:05 — Buying his first practice with £20,000 and a devil-may-care attitude00:51:35 — Selling Exeter and the year-long family world trip00:54:25 — Laura and the brand; how Dartmoor grew from £700K to £2.5M00:56:00 — The NHS contract as a social obligation01:07:40 — Barriers to entry, squat risks, and buying underperforming practices01:19:00 — Appointing the youngest clinician as clinical lead01:27:00 — Military-derived leadership principles; letting the ship sail without you01:33:15 — Fee guides as windows to the soul01:39:55 — The four pillars: leadership, infrastructure, branding, financial command and control01:53:35 — Darkest days in business01:57:30 — KPIs: one metric, embed the culture, then move on02:11:55 — Fantasy dinner partyAbout Mike HeskethMike Hesketh is a practice owner, dental business consultant, and founder of Hesketh Healthcare Accounting. He qualified as a dentist whilst serving as an officer with 40 Commando Royal Marines, completing the commando course and deploying to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. After leaving the military, he built and sold Exeter Dental Centre before buying and transforming Dartmoor Dental — a ten-surgery practice in Tavistock — from a £700K turnover to £2.5M in three years. Mike holds an MBA and a coaching qualification from Henley Business School, and works with a small number of practices on a bespoke, year-long consultancy basis.
• Mind Movers #48 — Neelima Patel 06.03.2026 1год 6хв

  Mind Movers is back — and what a return. Rhona is fresh from maternity leave (and a rather eventful ICU stay) and she's brought a guest who needs little introduction: cosmetic dentist Neelima Patel, known to fans of Married at First Sight UK as the woman who handled an absolute car crash of a match with extraordinary grace. This episode covers a lot of ground. From Neelima's route into dentistry and Kailash Solanki's famous mentorship programme at Kiss Dental, to the full, unfiltered story of her time on MAFS — the honeymoon that promised everything, the energy shift that followed, the Hinge bombshell, and the trolling she endured throughout. But this isn't just a reality TV debrief. It's a genuinely honest conversation about self-worth, the bruising reality of modern dating, what it means to be a high-achieving woman looking for a partner who matches your pace — and how to come out the other side stronger.In This Episode00:00:25 – Rhona's return & introducing Neelima00:02:05 – Choosing dentistry over medicine00:03:25 – Finding Kiss Dental & Kailash's mentorship programme00:05:10 – What makes Kiss Dental unique00:06:10 – Cosmetic dentistry aesthetics: Manchester vs London00:10:25 – How Neelima ended up on MAFS00:11:40 – Going against everyone's advice00:13:50 – Why she wanted to find love on TV00:16:30 – The wedding day: what you do (and don't) get to choose00:20:05 – First impressions of Stephen00:21:35 – The honeymoon — and the moment things shifted00:25:35 – Internalising doubt: gaslighting in real time00:27:05 – The trolling, and trusting her own intuition00:31:25 – The earnings conversation that changed everything00:38:25 – His true colours: recognising the venom00:44:30 – The Hinge incident00:50:20 – Traumatic, enlightening — or both?00:53:05 – The modern dating landscape & the male loneliness debate00:58:10 – Balancing dentistry with a media career01:01:00 – Mental health pressures in the profession01:04:10 – What she'd do differentlyAbout Neelima PatelNeelima Patel is a cosmetic dentist at Kiss Dental in Manchester, working alongside Kailash Solanki after completing his two-year mentorship programme in 2020. She qualified from the University of Sheffield in 2017 and has since built a reputation for high-end cosmetic work in one of the north's most sought-after practices. In 2024, she appeared on Channel 4's Married at First Sight UK.
• #332 Action, Result — Bilal Ahmed 04.03.2026 1год 37хв

  Most dentists are brilliant clinicians and hopeless with numbers — and Bilal Ahmed has built a career filling exactly that gap. A chartered accountant and tax adviser who stumbled into the dental world through his wife's professional circle, Bilal brings a corporate finance sharpness to a profession that's long been underserved by the accounting industry. In this episode, Payman and Bilal cover the full financial landscape for dentists: from the quirks of associate contracts and HMRC tax investigations to the thorny arithmetic of Invisalign, the hidden traps in popular tax schemes, and the long game of inheritance tax planning. Honest, direct, and refreshingly unafraid to say when something just doesn't work — this one's a must-listen for any dentist who's ever wondered if they're paying more tax than they should.In This Episode00:00:50 - Introduction00:01:05 - Finding dentistry00:03:05 - Nuances of dental accounting00:08:35 - Tax investigations00:19:25 - Good accountant vs great accountant00:21:05 - Practice valuations and the post-Covid hangover00:59:00 - Pricing strategy01:07:05 - Making Tax Digital01:09:30 - Expensing and entertainment01:23:00 - Tax avoidance schemes01:28:25 - Inheritance tax planning01:34:05 - Last days and legacy01:36:05 - Being an outlierAbout Bilal AhmedBilal Ahmed is a chartered accountant, tax adviser, and business consultant working exclusively with dental professionals. He came to dentistry by accident — through his wife's network — and recognised quickly that dentists were operating in a financial vacuum, using accounts only at tax time rather than as a tool for planning and growth. Drawing on a background in corporate finance, Bilal now helps dentists make sense of their numbers, structure their businesses correctly, and plan for long-term wealth — all while keeping things firmly on the right side of the line.
• #331 The Minefield — Nasser Syed & Chez Bright 25.02.2026 1год 27хв

  Nasser Syed is a man who doesn't really do stillness. With a background in oral surgery and conscious sedation, he's pivoted from five clinical days a week to running a growing group of practices, training dentists, and launching a brand new facility hire venture aimed at super associates who'd rather focus on their dentistry than deal with the headaches of practice ownership. Joining him is Chez Bright, his PA and right-hand collaborator, who offers a candid view of what it's actually like to work alongside someone whose brain, in her words, is "a minefield." Payman talks with them both about building teams, backing yourself, and knowing when to say no — plus the early clinical mistake that still sits with Nasser decades later and the personal losses that have shaped his faith and his drive.In This Episode00:01:00 — Practice ownership00:05:20 — Developing associates00:09:00 — Picking a lane00:16:00 — Meeting Chez Bright00:17:45 — Running projects00:24:30 — AI and the future of dentistry00:31:10 — Manchester Sedation Course00:37:45 — HireADentalSurgery.com00:52:20 — Branding and virality00:57:15 — Blackbox thinking01:04:15 — Clinical communication01:13:00 — Lowest point01:15:20 — Faith and loss01:22:25 — Memorable lecture01:25:00 — Fantasy dinner partyAbout Nasser SyedNasser Syed is a Liverpool-born dentist with a background in oral surgery and conscious IV sedation, currently working across a growing group of practices in the North West. He founded the Manchester Sedation Course in 2015 — SDC-accredited and open to both beginners and more experienced clinicians — and now runs it alongside his clinical and business commitments. His latest project is HireADentalSurgery.com, a dedicated facility hire model in Hale, Cheshire, offering super associates the equipment and flexibility to treat their own patients without the overheads of practice ownership.
• Everyone Else Is Taken - NAIL-IT with Payman Langroudi 21.02.2026 41хв

  What happens when you turn the microphone on the man who's spent years behind it? In this episode of the NAIL-IT podcast, Rana and Bav get Payman Langroudi — host of Dental Leaders and Clinical Director at Enlighten — firmly in the hot seat. It's a wide-ranging, refreshingly candid conversation that moves from the origins of Enlighten and the relentless pursuit of world-class quality to the very real mental health pressures that underpin life in dentistry. Payman reflects on leaning into his strengths, trusting his instincts, and why, after 320 episodes, the Dental Leaders podcast has become the thing he's most proud of. Find Rana on Instagram at @drranaalfalaki, and on Facebook and LinkedIn as Dr Rana Al-Falaki. Follow Bav on Instagram at @drbav83. You can also follow the NAIL-IT podcast at @nailit_podcast.In This Episode00:01:05 — Introductions and the Dental Leaders origin story00:02:10 — Why Payman started a podcast — and what it's become00:05:20 — Leaning into strengths, owning your quirks00:07:00 — Starting Enlighten at 28 and the philosophy of doing one thing brilliantly00:10:25 — The sacrifices behind world-class quality00:14:10 — Being number two — and the decision to become the best00:16:15 — Favourite quote: Oscar Wilde and the art of being yourself00:20:25 — Identity, self-awareness and shedding the layers00:21:50 — Dentistry as a kingdom — and why practices are anything but the same00:23:10 — Mental health in dentistry: burnout, suicide and the stress bucket00:27:40 — The emotional drain of being "on show" all day00:30:20 — Kids, careers and the realities of dentistry as a profession00:35:40 — Knowing yourself before you can lead others00:36:10 — Intuition as a leadership skill — and how to train itAbout Dr Rana Al-Falaki and Dr Bhavin PatelDr Rana Al-Falaki is a periodontist and internationally recognised pioneer in the use of lasers in periodontal treatment, having presented her research to audiences from the British Society of Periodontology to the American Academy and European Federation. After pushing herself to the point of chronic illness in pursuit of excellence, she channelled that experience into developing the NAIL-IT programme — a performance and leadership system built around optimising energy and helping dental professionals truly thrive. Dr Bhavin Patel is a dentist and educator who ran a practice on Wimpole Street for nearly eight years before stepping back to prioritise family life. Together, they host the NAIL-IT podcast — a show dedicated to helping dental professionals live fully, lead better, and laugh more.
• #330 Analytics and Aortas — Daniel Jones 18.02.2026 1год 22хв

  Payman chats with Daniel Jones, the Cambridge-educated entrepreneur who's bringing analytical rigour to dental practice management. Daniel shares the dramatic health journey that redirected his path from investment banking into healthcare innovation, revealing how a near-miss diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition shaped his mission. The conversation explores the technical challenges of building software that actually talks to the chaotic ecosystem of dental systems, from practice management platforms to lab invoices trapped in PDFs. You'll hear about the realities of fundraising, the loneliness of startup life, and why Daniel thinks the best entrepreneurs operate with surprisingly simple rules—even when solving complex problems.`In This Episode00:01:05 - What Medfin does00:03:05 - Associate performance metrics00:04:00 - Connecting disparate systems00:04:50 - Single practice viability00:05:40 - Why dentistry?00:06:10 - The blood pressure discovery00:08:20 - Coarctation diagnosis00:09:05 - Healthcare system chaos00:10:40 - Economics at Cambridge00:12:25 - Investment banking to startups00:15:50 - First startup lessons00:18:55 - Finding the dental opportunity00:22:40 - Building the founding team00:25:15 - Technical architecture challenges00:29:30 - Onboarding process evolution00:33:10 - Product development philosophy00:36:45 - Pricing strategy and models00:40:20 - Fundraising journey00:44:35 - Investor relationships00:48:50 - Multi-practice versus single site00:52:15 - NHS versus private analytics00:56:30 - Clinical efficiency debates01:00:45 - Competition and market positioning01:04:20 - AI integration plans01:08:35 - Team building challenges01:12:50 - Work-life balance realities01:16:15 - Fantasy dinner party01:18:40 - Last days and legacyAbout Daniel JonesDaniel Jones is the founder and CEO of Medfin, an analytics platform that helps dental practices and groups optimise their operational and financial performance. A Cambridge economics graduate who moved from investment banking into the startup world, Daniel has built software that connects the fragmented ecosystem of dental practice systems—from practice management platforms to accounting software—giving practice owners the insights they need to improve profitability.