I wear a lot of hats – it’s not unusual in the dental sector. Our lives are made up of so many aspects and mine is no different. I juggle constantly between family, work and health and all of the offshoots of each of these.
For family and friends, read immediate and extended, close friends and acquaintances right through to neighbours I’m on nodding terms with. Work equals a demanding portfolio of specialist periodontics, implant dentistry, building relationships with referral colleagues, my BSP duties as President, co-managing my practice, practice meetings, ongoing education, events and meetings. And health, always last on the list, is where I should spend a bit more focus. Note to self.
So a typical day starts around 6am. I try to start with a brisk walk to get moving and think through the day ahead. At home I help get my children to school on time and add my freshly washed gym kit to my car boot (along with my very best intentions).
I make calls on the way to work – being in the car is a good time to catch up with people I need to speak with and is a really good use of time. Being in clinic all day there’s not many opportunities for phone conversations and it’s so much more effective than email.
The main part of my day depends on where I am based that day. In a usual week my time is divided between RESTORE Dental Specialists (South Birmingham) and the Campbell Clinic (Nottingham). I might also be lecturing or in meetings. May was busy with the Dentistry Show and Gum Awareness Day so I was working on my presentations and catching up with Paula, the BSP’s Executive General Manager, helping to get ready for our events. The BSP receives quite a few clinical emails so I work through those with Ian Dunn and Wendy Turner – together we form the BSP’s Senior Leadership Team.
EuroPerio10 is fast approaching and this time it’s in Copenhagen. It’s such a fantastic event for the perio community but there is some serious co-ordination required to make it possible to attend.
Running a business as well as working in it means I really do need to start looking for clone solutions. I’m hoping Elon Musk will look into that soon.
I try and eat healthily at lunchtime. In recent times though I have become quite guilty of swapping lunch for Zoom calls and powering through until my evening dinner. I love food and one of things we enjoy as a family is eating out – Italian food is a popular choice. If I manage to eat, it’s usually a working lunch taken while I catch up on patient notes or emails that come in to me at the practice. I like to be accessible and make time to talk directly with referring dentists. It’s important to keep the communications strong and it helps build effective relationships. You can see how lunchtimes don’t provide a break but they do allow me to get things done between clinics – and every ticked action is good for my state of mind.
Home time includes a detour to the gym at least twice a week but the urge to see my lovely family and help my wife means I usually head for home. My wife is a hard-working GP so also has a full diary and there’s nowhere I’d rather be than winding down with them all.
I love being outdoors – probably as a result of so much of my working day being spent indoors – and tennis with my daughters or a long family walk is something I look forward to. I also aim to catch up with friends and colleagues, time permitting.
After the evening has passed and most people are turning in, I manage to salvage a couple of extra hours to attend to admin, planning my next day and packing my gym kit (again). It’s also the time when I get to write articles like these and try and reflect. Dentistry is a tough profession with a lot of demands on our time and well-being. With May having been focused on mental health awareness I know it’s an important part of each day to make time to take a breath and switch off.