The Educational Supervisor: I am an experienced general dental practitioner and have worked in oral surgery units as well teaching at Birmingham Dental School earlier in my career. I have been working at Heathfield Dental Practice since September 1982 when I started as an associate followed by becoming an expense sharing partner and finally taking over the practice in 2002. I started a new dental practice, Nechells Dental Clinic in Nechells , Birmingham in September 1997 which has been running very successfully. My clinical interests are oral surgery and advanced restorative dentistry.
I have been an ES with the DFT at City Scheme in Birmingham since August 2011 and have found my role most interesting and rewarding. I enjoy clinical teaching especially on a one to one basis and the DFT has been an exciting challenge to fulfill this interest. I work closely with all the members of my dental team especially my FD, I follow an open door policy with all my staff. The opportunity of further training newly qualified dental graduates for a year to improve their clinical knowledge and skills and introduce them to general dental practice has been an interesting and rewarding part of my dental career which I have thoroughly enjoyed. My aim is to provide all the training and support necessary to ensure that my FD has had as much clinical experience as possible in their DFT year and be ready for their next challenge. I look forward to the next year.
The Practice: Heathfield Dental Practice is a double fronted Victorian building located on a high street in a busy residential area north of Birmingham and very close to the city centre. It started in the 1950s and has always been a busy family practice. There are 5 fully equipped dental surgeries, the building is fully air conditioned. There is a waiting room downstairs and one upstairs, there are three surgeries downstairs, including the ES and The FD surgeries and two up stairs. The practice is fully computerised and we use the R4 software and digital xrays. There is a staff room, a dedicated decontamination room and a secure car park at the back of the building which is for the staff only.
The area is served well by public transport and is a busy residential area. The practice has a very large number of loyal patients who are regular attenders and we do see a lot of new patients as well.
We have a team of two experienced dentists who have helped with my DFT over the years as well as two visiting specialist dentists who do private cosmetic work. We have a team of 5 experienced and qualified nurses, a practice manager and a receptionist, all the staff have been involved with DFT and we have a experienced dedicated nurse for the FD.
The Area: The practice is located in a densely populated inner city area. It is a busy area with lots of business and retail outlets and a thriving community. it is a residential area with lots of families that we see at the practice, it is close to Birmingham city centre.
Other Points of Interest: The practice provides all types of dentistry except NHS orthodontics or sedation. We see a large number of new patients who need complex dentistry and are therefore able to provide a comprehensive range of dental treatment for them. This has always been a great interest for the FD as he or she gets an opportunity to treat such cases and gain valuable clinical experience. It is most important for me to ensure that my FD gains as much clinical dentistry as possible during the DFT.
The practice also provides private treatment and we have two specialists who visit the practice regularly to carry out specialist cosmetic work like Invisalign and orthodontic work.