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The dentistry model that gave me my life back - guest post by Amber Aplin


Spend any time on dental social media and you notice two recurring themes.


By far the biggest is feeling burned out, and not just dentists. The other is recruitment and retention. When I asked the audience at a recent talk what the biggest challenge in dentistry is, they gave me the same answers.


So let me tell you my story.


A few years ago I was working long hours with barely any life outside the surgery. My team were close to walking out, and then they did, right after lockdown. For the few that stayed, morale was low, and I could feel myself heading for burnout.


What changed everything for me was a paradigm shift in patient care from dentist-led to therapist-led, and almost in parallel, a complete shift in our treatment philosophy.


Discovering biomimetic dentistry


A couple of years later, I trained with David and Davey Alleman and started restoring teeth biomimetically. That changed everything.


For those of you who don’t know, biomimetic dentistry is a dental approach that aims to mimic the natural structure, function and aesthetics of healthy teeth. The term comes from ‘bio’ meaning life, and ‘mimetic’ meaning to imitate.


Biomimetic clinicians understand which parts of the tooth are necessary for function. Teeth bulge and cusps flex, so the restorations need to do this too. They also understand which non-critical areas can be sacrificed to reduce C-factor or protect a cusp.


My mind is blown that we can achieve bond strengths equal to that of enamel to dentine. Just wow.


Why it works so well


The best part is that biomimetic restorations have nano-gaps, not micro-gaps, which can occur in traditional dentistry.


Considering a single bacterium is one micron, this optimal bond actually seals the restorative margins from bacteria. That means restorations don’t fail and teeth don’t need root canal treatment, unless they are already irreversibly affected.


As a result:

  • our patients don’t have post-op symptoms

  • fillings don’t fall out

  • treatment is highly predictable


It is super predictable, and that is exactly why I’ve coined the phrase dreamy dentistry.

Moving to therapist-led care


So where are we today?


We are eighteen months on from the switch we made to therapist-led care.


Our fantastic dental therapists now look after ninety-five percent of our dental plan patients and also see new patients. The dentists have gone from seeing twenty plus patients per day, with all the energy drain and admin that brings, to around five or six.


All eight clinicians, dentists and dental therapists, restore teeth biomimetically, with the patient benefits and clinician benefits in equal measure.


What this means for the team


Now, I know what you’re thinking. You may be worried that our dental therapists are getting the rough end of the deal.


I have some good news.


Their check-ups and hygiene combined take up to forty-five minutes, and they get to choose which treatments they carry out.


The nurse team now work with clinicians who do the same treatments and use the same materials, so they know exactly what they are doing, whoever is in the surgery.


And the reception team?


All is well, thanks to the longer appointments, reduced footfall, and the fact that dental therapists don’t tend to run late.


Recruitment and retention


Let’s come back to the recruitment and retention problem that so many practices are struggling with.


For us, it is not an issue.


We have had one dental therapist move up from Kent, we have a full team, and more CVs arrive all the time.


A few questions for you


To help you think about where you are and what your opportunities might be, ask yourself the following:

  • Do your patients sometimes report sensitivity after a posterior composite?

  • Are you uncertain how to manage a patient with a cracked tooth?

  • Would you like to improve your work/life balance?

  • Do your onlays ever debond and you’re uncertain why?

  • Do you feel burned out sometimes?


An open invitation


If you answered yes to any of those, I have some good news.


We run training on exactly how to bring this into your own practice, across both biomimetic restorative care and therapist-led care.


You can find out more, and sign up for my fortnightly bulletin, using the link below. The bulletin is short, readable and full of genuinely useful advice on biomimetic dentistry, therapist-led care and prevention, all drawn from what we do every day.


As a welcome, you will get a PDF of the complete biomimetic composite workflow our clinicians use every single day at The Gentle Touch. It covers the full sequence from assessment to finish, and it is designed to live in surgery as an aide-mémoire.


Print it, laminate it, keep it by the chair.


Find out more:



And if you would simply like to talk it through, connect with me and drop me a message. I would love to chat.

Amber


About the author


Amber Aplin is the principal of The Gentle Touch in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, about an hour south of Edinburgh. It is the world’s largest biomimetic practice, and the UK’s largest fully therapist-led private practice.


Amber is a Kuraray Key Opinion Leader and a former Royal Army Dental Corps officer, and she teaches biomimetic restorative care and therapist-led care under her amber // APLIN brand.


The Gentle Touch, Corn Exchange31 Woodmarket, Kelso, TD5 7AT


Telephone: 01573 224802


 
 
 

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