Working life: Dr Andoni Jones, periodontal surgeon, MyDental
I get in for 7.30am to review my patient list for the day. Then it’s straight into appointments with overnight emergencies or standard treatments. It’s a busy practice with five full-time dentists.
I specialise in implants and periodontal surgery. The technical aspect of dentistry is extremely detailed— we work in a world of millimetres with implants.
A lot of patients, particularly older ones, have grown up with an expectation of pain at the dentist and they are always pleasantly surprised when this is not the case.
We are seeing a huge increase in the popularity of gum contouring.
Patients with a low or uneven gum line, often described as a ‘gummy smile” can achieve great results from gum contouring procedures.
By reshaping the gum, we can restore the natural proportions of your teeth. Gum disease, unfortunately, is also on the increase and that keeps me busy too.
All five dentists and support staff try to have lunch together to catch up.
Each dentist specialises in a different area, for example, veneers and root canals, short-term braces, so we all work in very different aspects of dentistry.
Managing patient expectations is perhaps the most important aspect for building trust and confidence so we give each patient a treatment plan detailing what it will entail and the costs before we begin.
I try and get some time around mid-afternoon to brief Rachel, our admin specialist, on new patients and their needs.
Twice weekly we have a quick management meeting to discuss business development and practice improvements.
This year we invested €35K on a new microscope to do root canals more efficiently. We also ran dental phobia workshops for nervous patients.
These initiatives arise from group meetings.
I head off, although the clinic stays open for a while longer with other dentists present. I unwind by playing tennis and swimming.
I am lucky enough to work in a stimulating environment but I like to switch off and spend time with my wife in the evenings.
