Adam is co-author of “The Essential Guide to Dental Implants – Learn Insider Secrets and Avoid Costly Mistakes,” with Dr Andrea Ubhi. ​

Available on Amazon.

Why did you go into implant dentistry?

After I had been qualified, I worked very much as a general dentist for the first 7 of those years, before undertaking additional training in dental implantology. During this time, I regularly came across frustrating situations such as failing post-crowns, troublesome dentures, gaps that would need damaging bridgework to fill – hence me starting on the road to offering implants as a healthier, more predictable and often more ethical solution.

Also as a student I always seemed to have an aptitude for oral surgery and in fact won the oral surgery prize at graduation. This aptitude naturally lends itself to surgical implant work and I now mentor several colleagues in surgical and restorative implant dentistry. It’s gratifying to see their own skills grow through close mentoring.

Why do you love implant dentistry?

For me, implant dentistry offers unique solutions to people’s problems and it is extremely satisfying to be able to improve people’s quality of life using my skills. Most patients that I see would end up with dentures or damaging bridgework if we were unable to use implants as we do.

Also, dental implants work!  They solve problems and implant patients are very appreciative of the improvements we make to their quality of life.

What has been the key to your success?

If I could pass on advice to ANY dentist, it would be to always act in the patient’s interests not your own. Always do the best by each and every patient, treat them as you would wish to be treated, provide the highest quality care with no compromises and the rest just follows.

What issues worry you in dentistry at the moment?

I have a big problem with people treating dentistry as a ‘sales’ industry. Sure, we charge for our work but ‘upselling’ and maximising profit can sometimes come at the expense of patient care. My motto is – do the job well and the rest is easy.

What are your top tips for a dentist wanting to be an implant dentist?

Firstly, work ethically. Remember there are many ‘tools in the box’ and implant treatment is just one of them. Study all areas of dentistry so you’re fair when considering options for patients. I’d suggest any dentist needs a minimum of 5 years general dental experience before starting out on the implant path. Also, you need to be very skilled at extracting teeth whilst not losing bone. It’s a skill that many dentists struggle with.

Next, I’d say, hook up with a good local implant dentist and start out by restoring implants that they place. This way you will see what makes for a good restoration and where the implants need to go. It’s far more about where the fixtures are placed than simply drilling holes in bone.

Then I’d suggest enrolling on a long course of study. There are several excellent year long implant courses around and one I can highly recommend is The Campbell Academy who provide excellent teaching as well as hands on patient treatment as part of the course.