DH&T22 October 2012

Brighton peer

Dental hygienist Christina Chatfield has shed blood, sweat and tears over her business – one she has been running since 2007. Now, firmly

established – and with the profession on the cusp of direct access to patients – she outlines why her business is a winner with her patients.

The factsGum disease is rife in the UK, with approximately 40-50% of the population suffering. Furthermore, oral health is associated with numerous other more serious health concerns such as mouth cancer (which kills more people than testicular and cervical cancer due to late detection, yet is the easiest to treat if caught early).

This situation is exacerbated by the challenge of:

• An ageing population• A fear of dentists being more common than of snakes or spiders (source: Dental Health Foundation 2011)• A lack of NHS dentists• A lack of alternatives to dentists.

The big ideaThere is widespread assumption that the only people capable of offering oral hygiene advice and services are dentists and in-house dental hygienists.

This is completely untrue: since 2006 (following the largest ever super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading) any qualified dental hygienists can offer this service independently.

The big idea is to allow people to get their teeth

Despite so much negativity, I never

lost faith in the business model – I knew that the law could be changed and that the model would succeed

‘ ‘IN THE FRONTLINE

Christina Chatfield, a dental

hygienist, is clinical director and

owner of Dental Health Sp Ltd which

opened on the high street of Brighton

in September 2007. She opened as

a result of a change in the law that

allows other registered members of

the dental team other than dentists set and manage the

business of dentistry. She has over 20 years experience

in practice and has worked within major blue chip health

companies. She qualified from Dundee in 1982 and

moved to Brighton with her three children in 1994. Her

experience within healthcare has enhanced both her

clinical and continued academic learning, as well as

building synergistic working relationships from all areas

of the dental industry. Christina is passionate about

empowering the patient and making dental hygiene

treatments easily accessible for all.

Hygienist Christina Chatfield is owner of Dental Health Spa, one of the first independent hygiene practices in the UK that stands boldly in the high street on Sussex’s east coast. Here, a look at the passion that drives the business

IN THE FRONTLINE

DH&T 23October 2012

Study club! To celebrate five years in practice, Dental Health Spa is

launching a study club that is aimed at all hygienists and

therapists practicing in the South East. Christina realised

through working on her own for so long that it can be very

easy to become quite isolated, and, with the prospect

of direct access, there has never been a better time to

network with other like minded hygienists and therapists.

The idea of the Study Club is to meet three to four

times a year and to run hands on sessions within the

practice. Hands-on courses will be limited to small

numbers to ensure individual attention and relaxed

interaction. This will be an opportunity to meet other

hygienists, learn new skills and gain up to date knowledge

on the latest technologies and developments in

periodontics.

The first study club meeting is going to be on Saturday

8 December 2012. ‘From Hygienist to Hygenius’ will be

led by Amanda Gallie, who has been a clinical teacher

for more than 12 years and has more than 10 years’

experience in specialist periodontal practice. As well

as being a key opinion leader for Phillips and the Swiss

Dental Academy, Amanda writes and lectures regularly

throughout the UK, and, most recently, presented the

Talking Points series for GSK.

Date and venue: Saturday 8 December at the Dental

Health Spa,14-15 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3WA

Time: 9:00am until 3.00pm

Price: £140 to include lunch and all refreshments

6 hours of verifiable CPD

To book online,

Website www.amandagallie.co.uk

Email karon.kitchen@optident.co.uk

Phone Karon on 07977 279471

This course is supported by Optident Ltd.

Dear dental hygienists and therapistsThe GDC is considering removing restrictions that

prevent patients seeing any member of the dental team

until after they’ve seen a dentist for a referral. (The only

exception to this is with clinical dental technicians; they

are already able to provide full dentures to patients who

have no teeth without the need for a prescription).

It would mean that registered dental care

professionals would have the option to provide services

to patients without the patient having to see a dentist

first. Earlier this year the Office of Fair Trading called for

the changes to be made as soon as possible and the

Department of Health has welcomed that call. Now the

GDC wants to hear from you. Make sure you have your

say on proposed changes!

www.gdc-uk.org/GDCcalendar/Consultations/

Pages/Direct-Access-Consultation.aspx

Best wishes, Christina

whitened, their gums treated and general oral health assessed with the same ease and convenience of getting their eyes tested.

So, Dental Health Spa was born – the first high street dental hygiene centre in Sussex (and possibly the UK).

Kissable mouthOur service makes dentistry less intimidating and more accessible, welcoming and convenient.

The main benefit people seek when coming to us is a fresher, cleaner and more kissable mouth, however we bring substantial societal benefits too. A survey of clients showed:• 3.8% reduced the number of cigarettes they smoke• 56.7% take more responsibility for their home oral care routine• 42.7% are more knowledgeable when it comes to their oral health.

If we did not exist, 12% would not go anywhere.

Cold feetThe idea came about following the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) upholding the super-complaint about the dental industry. The trouble was that, no matter what the OFT said, they did not have the power to change the law. Nevertheless, their ruling inspired the idea outlined. Calculations showed that setting up a functioning dental hygiene practice in a prime high street location required a substantial injection. But how do you obtain funding when your business idea aims to take on the status quo within a massive industry like dentistry, while the laws and industry bodies are against you? Not easy. The original funding was achieved by setting up a three-way partnership.

The sheer scale of the challenge making our business a success, despite all the challenges proved too much for my partners. Three became two, then two became one as they withdrew – and even the bank got cold feet at one point.

Finally with the sale of my house and thanks to financial support from friends and family, I bought out my fleeing partners and kept the business afloat. Despite so much negativity, I never lost faith in the business model – I knew that the law could be changed and that the model would succeed.

Hands tiedFor five years, my business model was competitive enough to attract 5,000 clients but at a competitive disadvantage to dentists in too many ways. Soon, when the biggest shake-up in dentistry in history comes into force next March (hopefully), I will be perfectly placed with a healthy competitive advantage with my doors open wide to even more customers ready to embrace a new era in dental hygiene.

I knew we wouldn’t make money immediately, but believed this was more about changing attitudes towards dental healthcare by offering a new pathway. With more than 87,000-plus in Brighton and Hove area not going to the dentist through fear and an additional 179,000-plus not attending because of cost, I am hoping I can make a difference. DH&T