What makes your practice unique?
You have to build a clinic around the needs of your patients. Some people in Dubai work for six to seven days and to make it convenient for them we are available all seven days of the week.
We have a complete team for any type of dentistry. If your problem requires the services of an orthodontist, a paediatric dentist, a dental surgeon, or laser specialist, you will find them all here.
Lastly, our clinic is fully digital, so the old way of taking impressions doesn’t exist anymore. Today, we do everything with a 3D scanner and 3D printer. We are one of the few clinics to have this technology.
Does the decor in the clinic play a role?
Yes, because it reflects how a doctor works. If you want to sell an exclusive high-end product, people should be convinced that the clinic reflects the competence of the doctor, the whole team, and the quality of work. In my clinic, you will not find anything in red because research says the colour red is associated with blood and it can psychologically create tension in the patient. We need to use calming colours.
How do you engage patients?
The key point of gaining trust in the treatment we offer is how we start the conversation with the patient. Many doctors forget to listen to their patients. You have to make them comfortable. When you have a conversation and you show a genuine interest in knowing the patient, it builds trust. Then we start talking about the dental issues. I also encourage my patients to ask a lot of questions.
How do you manage to calm a patient?
Most patients have not been to the dentist in years, so I can’t get down to the job immediately. I have to talk to them about something else for some time. I always start with a simple job and may fix another appointment for the complex ones.
How do you plan to improve patient referrals?
We usually get patients from referrals because the word of mouth is very effective. We also work with other clinics, particularly paediatricians and GPs so that they refer patients to us and likewise.
I make it a point to discuss everything with patients beforehand so that they leave with all questions answered. After every treatment we give patients a feedback form where they can easily rate us. It helps us understand if the experience was smooth or otherwise.
Communication with the general public is also essential for us to be known, which makes social media very important. We have a dedicated social media team to get the message out to the people and generate feedback.
How do you make sure your staff has been trained?
We have to strictly comply with all the requirements set by the government. Internally, we conduct a lot of training sessions for our staff. We send doctors for training either to Europe or America twice a year on an all-expenses-paid trip. We also invite experts from outside to teach our staff the latest techniques.
How do you expect to expand your services?
We have two centres at strategic locations at two ends of the town. For customer convenience, the location has to be easy to find. We are thinking of expanding to a new location. It’s still to be decided.
Do you have flexible financial options?
We understand that orthodontic treatments can be expensive, so we have to be flexible. We are also interested in a long-term relationship with our patients. That’s why we break the payment down to monthly instalments. We prepare a treatment plan, encompassing all the issues and priority areas, so that patients don’t have to pay all at once.
