The future of dentistry – why adaptability matters more than ever

Nigel Jones contrasts decades of stagnant NHS contract debates with the tech-driven growth mindset thriving across private dentistry.

It’s such a strange uncertain world at the moment, which presents a challenge to someone who has responsibility for shaping Practice Plan’s strategy for the next five years. 

In fact, the chances are that since I started typing that sentence, Donald Trump has posted again on Truth Social, and the world has changed again!

Such volatility has changed the nature of modern business strategy from predicting and planning for a reasonably certain future environment to being about putting yourself in a position to respond, quickly and successfully, to an increasing amount of unanticipated change.

So, does that also apply to dentistry and to the dental profession?

Well, in the past few weeks, via my attendance at two major dental events, I’ve had a reminder that both the old and the new strategic approaches are still very much in play.

The stagnant NHS debate

Take, for example, the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show where I was privileged to host a panel discussing the NHS contract reforms, principally in England although touching on what is happening in Wales.

I’ve now been to more than 30 British Dental Association conferences since my ‘debut’ in 1990 and a continuous thread of conversation through all those events has been what to do with NHS dentistry. 

Of course, it could be argued that lots has changed in the intervening period, and I don’t just mean the contractual changes introduced in April.

Devolution creating four versions of NHS dentistry, the introduction of units of dental activities and fixed contract values in England and Wales, flexible commissioning, I could go on.

But, for me, it was striking that the fundamental topics we were addressing on this year’s panel – contractual frameworks, adequate funding and NHS workforce – were essentially the same as the issues being debated in 1990.

Indeed, one member of the panel audience complimented me on my ability to still look, and sound, interested in the same old debates that have been held for decades!

While I get the sentiment behind the observation, of course I’m interested. How can you not be when the mental health of the profession is so negatively impacted by NHS dentistry and when oral health inequality appears to be widening at an alarming rate? 

For those reasons, the snail-like pace of real change, despite Conservative, New Labour, a coalition and the current Labour governments, is immensely frustrating. 

To be forced to reiterate the same old arguments decade after decade does not exactly point to the volatile ever-changing world I described in my opening paragraphs.

A tale of two mindsets

However, compare that with the event that I attended most recently, hosted by Practice Plan, for predominantly private dentists with the aim of creating a safe, supportive community of like-minded individuals.

The talk was rarely about business or clinical matters, but when it was, the contrast with the understandably low morale and resigned feel to the audience attending the panel at the Dentistry Show was stark.

If ever you wanted a real-life demonstration of the difference between a fixed and growth mindset, this was it.

To hear many practice owners talking so enthusiastically about their investment in their teams, in new clinical skills, in new technology, in management information systems and in sustainability was incredibly motivating. Of course, it’s not all a bed of roses but my point is that the mood perfectly encapsulated that strategic requirement to be able to adapt and constantly evolve.

Capitalising on future opportunities

To be fair, at the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show, it was also not hard to find plenty of evidence of similar positivity.

For example, take the panel discussion at Practice Plan’s Dental Business Theatre about the tech-powered patient journey with its amazing contributions from dental business consultant Mike Bentley and Boxly co-founder Adam Smith as well as two of the most forward-thinking practice owners in UK dentistry, Kish Patel and Jin Vaghela.

Their optimism about the future, however volatile it may be, was infectious.

So, while it might be a strange and unpredictable world, not just now, but for the foreseeable future, the way to deal with it is to put yourself in a position where you have the energy and the time to proactively capitalise on the wealth of opportunity, partners and new technology out there.

This article is sponsored by Practice Plan.