This week, Payman chats with Niki Keyhani, a newly qualified specialist prosthodontist who's already built something remarkable. Seven years out from qualification, she's opened a squat practice, completed her specialist training at King's, and somehow managed to do both simultaneously during a pandemic.
What really stands out isn't just the clinical achievement—it's the way she talks about passion versus ambition, about choosing to do everything at once rather than waiting for the "right time." There's a refreshing honesty here about being underestimated as a young woman in dentistry, about that first complaint that knocked her sideways, and about why true kindness matters more than just going through the motions.
Whether she's discussing optimal achievement over high achievement or explaining why she'd rather wait for the right person than rush into marriage, Niki brings a perspective that feels both grounded and aspirational.
In This Episode
00:01:15 - Introduction and background
00:01:55 - Passionate versus ambitious
00:03:00 - Sibling dynamics and guidance
00:04:40 - The "wanting it all" approach
00:05:50 - Sacrifice and balance in career building
00:10:00 - Growing up as a dentist's daughter
00:15:00 - Starting a squat practice during COVID
00:21:15 - Opening during the pandemic
00:22:20 - Decision to pursue specialist training
00:24:00 - Neil Nathwani's encouragement to specialise
00:25:30 - Getting into specialist training first try
00:27:45 - Clinical capabilities and full mouth rehabs
00:36:00 - Patient selection red flags
00:37:40 - Blackbox thinking
00:56:15 - Challenges as a woman in dentistry
01:06:15 - Business development mindset
01:07:10 - High achievers versus optimal achievers
01:09:15 - Child of a dentist privilege
01:10:10 - Building the perfect patient journey
01:13:50 - Spanish lessons and tennis
01:15:30 - Best lectures and courses
01:16:50 - Creating a thousand-page prosthodontic textbook
01:21:25 - Fantasy dinner party
01:24:00 - Last days and legacy
About Niki Keyhani
Niki Keyhani is a newly qualified specialist prosthodontist who graduated from King's College London in 2017. She completed her postgraduate diploma at the Eastman and her specialist training at King's whilst simultaneously opening and running her own squat practice from 2020. The daughter of a dentist, she's passionate about prosthodontics, teaching, and breaking down perceptions of what young women in dentistry can achieve.
Richard Porter joins Payman to explore the meeting point of clinical dentistry and psychology.
From his early struggles adapting to London dental school after growing up in rural Kent, to his current work exploring personality psychology and emotional intelligence in practice, Richard challenges conventional thinking about what makes a truly skilled dentist.
He argues that feelings are the currency of human existence—and understanding them is as critical as clinical competence. The discussion moves through burnout, the dark triad of difficult patient personalities, and the tension between contentment and progress, before landing on Richard's passion for helping dentists understand their own minds.
It's a conversation that questions everything from dental education to the nature of expertise itself.
In This Episode
00:01:20 - Backstory
00:06:05 - Six pillars of good dentistry
00:08:20 - Emotional intelligence and motivation
00:13:35 - Psychology journey
00:38:25 - Restorative dentistry career
00:39:05 - Why implants matter
00:41:25 - Hallmarks of expertise
00:44:45 - Contentment vs progress
01:17:20 - Blackbox thinking
01:23:50 - Minimal vs proper tooth preparation
01:29:35 - Dentistry's systemic health impact
01:34:05 - Green button philosophy
01:42:35 - Dentist suicide and burnout
01:45:35 - Neuroticism and the N-score
01:52:00 - Best lectures, books and courses
02:02:30 - Fantasy dinner party
02:03:40 - Last days and legacy
About Richard Porter
Richard Porter is a restorative dentist with specialist registrations in prosthodontics, endodontics, restorative dentistry, and special care dentistry. Having trained at Guy's Hospital and worked in maxillofacial surgery, Richard now combines clinical teaching with his deep fascination for personality psychology, focusing on how emotional intelligence shapes patient outcomes and professional wellbeing.
In this episode, orthodontist Zaid Esmail opens up about what really matters in patient care—and it's not just straight teeth.
From calling every patient the week after fitting braces to navigating the tension between NHS pragmatism and private practice perfectionism, Zaid reveals why communication trumps technique every time.
He shares the terrifying moment a patient swallowed a spring mid-treatment, the legal nightmare of inventing an orthodontic device, and why he built an online academy to teach GDPs the skills they're inevitably going to use anyway.
Plus, there's an honest take on conference culture, overtreatment trends, and why he refuses to become the kind of orthodontist who needs cases to pay bills.
Want 10% off Zaid's Online Orthodontic Academy course and mentorship? Use code DLPOD10 at https://onlineorthodonticacademy.co.uk/
In This Episode
00:01:20 - What makes a great orthodontist
00:06:25 - Why he'll never own a fully private practice
00:14:40 - From Iraq to Wales via dental school
00:28:00 - Teaching philosophy and the dangers of weekend courses
00:37:50 - Where GDPs go wrong with orthodontics
00:41:45 - Building the Online Orthodontic Academy
00:52:50 - Blackbox thinking
00:58:05 - Inventing the Eruptor device
01:16:45 - Conference culture and the problem with celebrity orthodontists
01:24:10 - Fantasy dinner party
01:27:10 - Last days and legacy
About Zaid Esmail
Zaid Esmail is an orthodontist working at Grosvenor House Orthodontic Practice in Tunbridge Wells, part of the Bupa Dental Care group. He runs the Online Orthodontic Academy, providing diploma-level training and case mentorship for dentists looking to incorporate orthodontics into their practice. Zaid also invented the Eruptor, a device for managing partially erupted teeth.
Follow him on Instagram at @onlineorthoacademy and @zaid_mails.
This expansive and deeply reflective episode features Anne-Sophie Flury — neuroscientist, psychology graduate, former PhD researcher, and wellness educator — whose work bridges hard science with lived human experience. Known online as “Coochie by Gucci,” Anne-Sophie brings rare honesty and intellectual clarity to conversations about the brain, trauma, intuition, and emotional agency.Rhona and Payman explore Anne-Sophie’s unconventional academic journey, from leaving a business degree for psychology to working in experimental neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology alongside leading researchers. Together, they unpack why understanding the brain isn’t enough — and how learning that the brain can change became the turning point in Anne-Sophie’s own mental health and sense of agency.The conversation moves fluidly through modern overwhelm: social media burnout, dopamine addiction, emotional over-identification, and the spiritualisation of feelings. Anne-Sophie offers a grounded, science-based perspective on meditation, psychedelics, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation — cutting through both clinical detachment and performative spirituality.What emerges is a powerful discussion about responsibility without shame, emotional awareness without indulgence, and why separating yourself from your thoughts may be the most liberating skill of all.In This Episode00:00:25 – Returning to Mind Movers & meeting Anne-Sophie00:01:45 – From business to psychology: finding intellectual purpose00:04:15 – Neuroscience, VR research & leaving the PhD00:07:20 – Failure, resilience & unconventional career pivots00:08:30 – “Coochie by Gucci”: identity, grief & online personas00:10:20 – Social media, activism & burnout00:12:30 – Doomscrolling, empathy fatigue & loss of motivation00:14:40 – Perfection culture, comparison & digital disconnection00:18:45 – Psychology vs neuroscience: understanding the brain00:20:05 – Psychedelics, policy & political suppression00:23:00 – What psychedelics actually do to the brain00:27:20 – Mental health, loneliness & early emotional struggles00:30:40 – The moment everything changed: “I can change my brain”00:31:50 – Meditation, neuroplasticity & emotional regulation00:34:00 – Agency, awareness & visualising a different life00:36:00 – Relationships, values & evolving identities00:38:10 – Can core values really change?00:40:10 – Trauma, intuition & emotional misinterpretation00:42:25 – Are we over-validating emotions?00:44:30 – Spiritual bypassing vs real growth00:45:00 – Float tanks, meditation & separating from thought00:48:20 – Anxiety vs intuition: learning the differenceAbout Anne-Sophie FluryAnne-Sophie Flury is a neuroscience and psychology specialist whose work focuses on emotional regulation, nervous system awareness, and personal agency. After completing a psychology degree, a master’s in experimental neuroscience, and publishing research during her PhD, she stepped away from academia to make science accessible in the real world.Blending research, lived experience, and practical tools, Anne-Sophie helps people understand not just why they feel the way they do — but how to change it. Her work challenges emotional fatalism, encourages responsibility without self-blame, and reframes mental health as something dynamic rather than fixed.
Chiara Burgio's path to dentistry started with a Parisian psychoanalyst and a ten-minute stare.
What followed was an international training odyssey—from Madrid to Milan, Brazil to NYU—that shaped her approach to aesthetic dentistry.
In this conversation, she opens up about the pull of digital workflows, the art of composite layering, and what it really means to work alongside someone like Christian Coachman.
But there's a shadow side to her drive, too. That relentless perfectionism, the kind that keeps her reviewing cases long after she's left the practice. It's the thing that makes her brilliant, and the thing she's learning to tame.
In This Episode
00:01:45 - International roots and family ties
00:03:00 - Choosing dentistry over economics
00:04:25 - The Parisian psychoanalyst who changed everything
00:18:30 - NYU aesthetics programme and American training
00:28:45 - Digital dentistry and working with Coachman
00:42:15 - Composite layering and aesthetic philosophy
00:58:20 - Blackbox thinking
01:11:30 - Toxic ambition
01:12:40 - Fantasy dinner party
01:15:25 - Last days and legacy
About Chiara Burgio
Chiara Burgio is a dentist practising in London with a focus on aesthetic and restorative dentistry. She completed the NYU Advanced Aesthetic Program and has trained internationally across Milan, Brazil, and New York, bringing a digital-first approach to composite work and smile design.
In this episode of Dental Leaders, Payman chats with Deepa Patel, a locum dentist with the unique experience of working inside over 100 different practices. Having held every role from nurse and receptionist to practice manager before qualifying, Deepa shares why the happiest practices aren't always the most high-tech, and why the most profitable dentists aren't always the most skilled.
They touch on her philosophy of treating "dental and mental health" together and discuss how a transformative 10-day silent meditation retreat shifted her focus from perfection to presence. From humming during extractions to her daily gratitude practice, Deepa reveals to Payman why emotional intelligence is just as vital as clinical precision in modern dentistry.
In This Episode
01:20 - Mini smile makeovers and composite work
04:10 - Mindset around colour conversations
05:30 - Lessons from inside 100 practices
08:00 - Adapting to different equipment
10:20 - Respect for nurses and teamwork
12:45 - Why reception is the hardest job
14:35 - Handling difficult patients
17:10 - Dentists who couldn't do nursing
22:30 - Working in corporate versus independent
24:45 - Meeting patients in the waiting room
30:15 - Teeth colour and ageing
33:20 - Humming to keep patients calm
37:30 - Ethical treatment planning
39:20 - Disagreeing with treatment plans
42:05 - Motherhood and work-life balance
47:50 - The silent meditation retreat experience
50:15 - Living in the moment
54:15 - Treating dental and mental health together
56:35 - Blackbox thinking
01:00:50 - Manager power in corporates
01:09:25 - Courses as an investment
01:10:10 - Writing ten gratitudes every morning
About Deepa Patel
Deepa Patel qualified as a dentist in India before moving to the UK, where she worked as a hygienist, dental nurse, receptionist, and practice manager whilst completing her ORE exams. She now works two days a week at a Bupa practice and spends the rest of her time as a locum dentist, having gained experience in over 100 different practices across the UK. Deepa completed a transformative 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat and practices daily gratitude, writing ten things she's grateful for every morning. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two children, aged 16 and 4.
This week, Payman sits down with Adeel Ali, an implantologist who's taken the kind of risks most dentists only talk about. Seven years qualified and he's already built multiple UK practices, mastered full-arch implantology including zygomatics, and most recently moved his family to Qatar to open a clinic from scratch—all whilst flying back every three weeks to maintain UK commitments.
The conversation reveals someone refreshingly honest about not being naturally gifted clinically, instead crediting a relentless work ethic inherited from his father's 40-year retail career. They discuss marrying at 24, having kids young, and deliberately choosing to excel in every domain simultaneously rather than sequentially.
Adeel's approach to business follows a simple framework: character-assassinate potential partners for integrity, find the best person doing what you want to learn, and when uncertainty hits, pray five times daily and trust it'll work out.
From explaining why people should die with fixed teeth rather than dentures to how his wife rewired his mindset about Qatar, this episode offers an unfiltered look at making bold moves work through spiritual conviction and practical ruthlessness.
In This Episode
00:01:20 - Work ethic and retail roots
00:04:25 - Teaching kids about money and work
00:09:10 - Family dynamics and sacrifice
00:13:50 - Marrying young and choosing fatherhood
00:16:50 - Struggling through dental school
00:22:15 - Life-changing full arch work
00:23:25 - Finding mentors and the Tatum course
00:26:25 - Three-tier training programme
00:29:10 - Advice for aspiring implantologists
00:33:45 - Aha moments in implantology
00:43:15 - Mentorship beyond clinical skills
00:46:50 - Choosing business partners
00:51:15 - Practice acquisitions and growth strategy
00:53:20 - Comfortable in the uncomfortable
00:56:25 - Faith, religion and rating people holistically
00:59:35 - Prayer and God consciousness
01:05:50 - The Qatar move
01:09:35 - Building London Implant Clinic from scratch
01:12:35 - Wife's all-in mentality
01:14:10 - Flying lifestyle and health concerns
01:18:40 - Fantasy dinner party
01:30:35 - Full arch consultation process
01:36:25 - Cultural differences treating Qatari patients
About Adeel Ali
Adeel Ali is an implantologist who recently relocated to Qatar whilst maintaining UK practices. He's completed around 800 full arch cases and placed approximately 8,000 implants, focusing primarily on complex zygomatic and pterygoid cases. He runs a three-tier mentorship programme and travels between Qatar and the UK every three weeks.
In this Dental Leaders episode, Payman sits down with Fabian Farbahi, a 22-year-old Sheffield dental student who's already mastered something most people spend decades learning: the power of genuine conversation.
Fabian spends 3.5-hour train journeys striking up chats with strangers because he's fascinated by people's stories—the same curiosity that drove him to become president of Sheffield's dental student society and spend two months on elective in Brazil learning Portuguese. They discuss Fabian's refreshingly unformed career path—he's drawn to oral surgery, intrigued by sports dentistry, passionate about public health behaviour change, and comfortable not knowing exactly which direction he'll take.
The conversation covers his transformation from small-town student to confident stage presenter, lessons learned managing volunteers without pay, and why the best time to take business risks is when you're young. What emerges is someone who understands that dentistry isn't just about teeth—it's about connection, communication, and throwing yourself into uncomfortable situations until they become second nature.
In This Episode
00:03:35 - Choosing Sheffield and moving north
00:06:45 - Clinical mistakes and university challenges
00:07:40 - Student society presidency
00:11:25 - Train conversations and connecting with strangers
00:14:20 - Getting into dental school struggles
00:17:40 - Career interests: implants, oral surgery, sports dentistry
00:20:35 - Public health and behaviour change
00:26:15 - Implantology path and the dip
00:30:05 - Practice ownership versus travel ambitions
00:32:20 - Two-month Brazil elective experience
00:41:20 - Six-year projections and taking risks young
00:44:30 - Managing people without payment
00:50:15 - Business culture and leadership style
00:54:50 - FDI World Dental Congress in Istanbul
00:58:20 - Shadowing at Evo Dental
01:01:30 - Sponsor hunting and sales lessons
01:06:00 - Finding confidence through reinvention
01:08:50 - Fantasy dinner party
About Fabian Farbahi
Fabian Farbahi is a fourth-year Sheffield dental student who served as president of the Sheffield University Dental Student Society. Originally from Taunton, he recently completed a two-month elective in Brazil, working across multiple cities whilst learning Portuguese and immersing himself in the culture.
Nik Sethi returns to the podcast four years after his first appearance alongside brother Sanjay, and what's changed reads like a masterclass in professional evolution.
Now president of BAAD and founder of the Elevate education platform, Nik's story isn't about flashy techniques or groundbreaking discoveries—it's about something far more valuable. He's built his success on a simple premise that many overlook: getting the foundations right matters more than chasing the last 5%.
Through honest reflections on juggling multiple practices, raising young children, and navigating the occasional courier disaster, Nik reveals how surrounding yourself with the right people and mastering the basics can transform not just your dentistry, but your entire relationship with the profession.
His approach to breaking complex cases into manageable checkpoints, leveraging technology for better communication, and building genuine relationships through dental academies offers a blueprint for sustainable success that doesn't require sacrificing your evenings or your sanity.
In This Episode
00:02:10 - Return to the podcast
00:08:00 - BAAD presidency and academy culture
00:13:30 - Young BAAD initiative
00:16:05 - Post-COVID events and networking value
00:20:30 - Career transitions and taking the plunge
00:23:15 - Keys to staying happy in dentistry
00:26:10 - Elevate education platform origins
00:28:00 - Focusing on foundations over the last 5%
00:29:00 - Patient communication and relationship building
00:36:50 - Building the Elevate diploma
00:40:15 - Business ventures and collaboration
00:57:25 - Learning from Dev Patel and Dental Beauty
01:00:55 - Drew Shah and Dentinal Tubules influence
01:02:40 - Leadership and financial education
01:04:15 - Spinning multiple plates
01:07:15 - Hands-on course disasters and problem solving
01:18:05 - Lab relationships and communication
01:25:15 - Trust and long-term lab partnerships
01:31:20 - Physical impressions versus digital scanning
01:33:15 - Using digital technology for patient education
01:37:00 - Direct versus indirect treatment decisions
01:38:05 - Check scans and real-time lab communication
01:40:00 - Managing patient expectations and workflows
01:42:30 - Complex case treatment planning in stages
01:46:00 - Importance of mastering the basics
01:50:35 - Materials knowledge and reducing variables
01:54:00 - Continuous learning and accepting failures
About Nikhil Sethi
Nikhil Sethi is a restorative dentist and current president of the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry (BAAD). He practises at Square Mile Dental Centre in London with his brother Sanjay and colleague Amit, and runs a second practice in Essex. During the COVID lockdown, Nik founded Elevate, an education platform focused on teaching foundational principles in restorative dentistry through webinars and hands-on courses.
When a slipped disc ends your dental career at its peak, what comes next? Randeep Singh Gill's story isn't about endings—it's about radical reinvention.
A digital dentistry enthusiast whose career was built on precision and routine, Randeep found himself confronting an identity crisis when chronic neck pain forced him away from practice. But here's where it gets interesting: instead of retreating, he pivoted into the very thing he'd always loved but never pursued: technology.
Now he's building Dental CFO, an AI-powered platform designed to give practice owners something he believes they desperately lack: clarity. From workaholic associate to tech founder, Randeep's journey exposes the fragility of our professional identities and the transferable skills we don't realise we possess until we're forced to use them.
In This Episode
00:04:10 - Why dentistry over computing
00:05:25 - Left hand, right hand
00:10:15 - Six-day weeks and holiday guilt
00:14:30 - When cutting down actually earned more
00:20:40 - Identity crisis and the grief of leaving
00:26:05 - Teaching himself AI and entrepreneurship
00:32:30 - The six-month online course
00:38:15 - Finding your niche: Cerec crowns and clarity
00:39:05 - Building Dental CFO for real-time intelligence
00:42:45 - Financial clarity as obsession
00:47:25 - LinkedIn and hundreds of conversations
01:03:30 - Blackbox thinking
01:13:30 - Mistakes in tech: ego and uncertainty
01:17:05 - Squad models and developer dynamics
01:20:10 - Missing the people and the routine
01:26:55 - AI anxiety and raising kids offline
01:29:40 - Competition nightmares in tech
01:35:00 - Fantasy dinner party
01:37:30 - Last days and legacy
About Randeep Singh Gill
Randeep qualified from King's College London in 2009 and spent over a decade as an associate, including 11.5 years at the same practice where he developed a passion for digital dentistry and same-day Cerec crowns. When a cervical disc injury cut his clinical career short, he retrained in AI and entrepreneurship, founding Dental CFO—a platform designed to give dental practice owners real-time financial intelligence and clarity.
Best friends Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi met at King's dental school and have remained inseparable ever since. In this episode, they share their journey from different backgrounds—Alisha's upbringing in Zambia and Natalie's roots in a medical family—to navigating their foundation years together.
Their paths are diverging professionally, with Alisha drawn to implants and oral surgery, whilst Natalie gravitates towards restorative dentistry and aesthetics. Beyond clinical aspirations, they discuss work-life balance, the role of faith, and their commitment to giving back to communities that shaped them.
It's a candid conversation about early career decisions, the pressure to succeed, and the power of friendship in weathering the uncertainties of young professional life.
In This Episode
00:02:10 - Meeting at King's
00:02:15 - Pre-dental school expectations 0
0:04:05 - Growing up in Zambia
00:07:10 - Coming from a medical family
00:12:30 - Different clinical interests emerge
00:15:25 - Specialising versus special interests
00:19:00 - Three-year career projections
00:26:50 - DCT plans and private practice
00:28:50 - Getting engaged during foundation year
00:34:20 - Work-life balance philosophies
00:44:00 - Entrepreneurial ambitions
00:50:00 - AI anxieties
00:57:25 - Faith and staying optimistic
01:02:10 - Darkest days in dentistry
01:03:50 - Blackbox thinking
01:07:10 - A smile transformation story
01:13:05 - Giving back financially
01:14:50 - Fantasy dinner party
About Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi
Alisha grew up in Zambia before moving to the UK for her A-levels and dental training at King's College London. Now completing her foundation year, she's discovered a passion for implants and oral surgery after shadowing clinicians in practice. She's recently engaged and balancing personal milestones with ambitious career plans that may one day lead her back to Zambia.
Natalie comes from Derby and a family of doctors who actively discouraged her from following in their footsteps. After struggling with self-consciousness about her teeth as a child, she found her calling in dentistry. Now in her foundation year, she's drawn to restorative dentistry and is considering DCT training in the field, with aspirations towards full mouth rehabilitation work.
Aditi Bhalla's story reads like a cautionary tale about high achievement. A specialist prosthodontist who ticked every box—academic success, specialist training, teaching positions—she found herself breaking down in surgery in 2018, asking the question so many high achievers eventually face: is this it?
After developing De Quervain's tenosynovitis from repetitive movements and stress, Aditi was forced to step away from dentistry. What followed was an unexpected journey into spirituality, meditation, and ultimately, retraining as an integrative psychotherapist.
Now she works predominantly with dentists and other professionals who've achieved everything they thought they wanted but still feel lost, anxious, and burnt out. Her transformation from perfectionist dentist to spiritual guide offers a roadmap for those struggling with the same questions she once faced.
In This Episode
00:02:15 - High achievers feeling lost
00:03:10 - The perfectionism plateau
00:04:10 - Growing up as the brainy kid
00:06:35 - School captain to dental specialist
00:08:15 - Choosing prosthodontics
00:10:20 - Breaking down in surgery
00:11:45 - Discovering spirituality
00:14:30 - The spiritual awakening path
00:21:00 - Retraining as a psychotherapist
00:28:00 - Meditation fundamentals
00:32:25 - Breathwork techniques
00:42:00 - Self-compassion versus weakness
00:44:00 - Contentment and ambition coexisting
00:46:20 - The wrist injury that changed everything
00:57:15 - Therapy versus dentistry
01:00:00 - Understanding spirituality
01:03:10 - Blackbox thinking
01:12:10 - The Wellbeing Hub
01:14:35 - Fantasy dinner party
01:16:20 - Last days and legacy
About Aditi Bhalla
Aditi is a former specialist prosthodontist who trained in India before completing her specialist training at King's College London. She lectured for both King's and Health Education England, teaching occlusion and toothwear, whilst working in multiple practices across the Southeast.
After developing Dequervain's tenosynovitis—a repetitive strain injury that left her unable to continue clinical work—she embarked on a spiritual journey that transformed her career. Now an integrative psychotherapist, life coach, and wellness advocate, she works predominantly with dentists, bankers, and medical professionals experiencing burnout and existential questioning despite their professional success.
Alex Buciu's story reads like something from another era. From endodontics in Romania to amalgams in Northern Ireland, his path through dentistry mirrors a deeper journey through loss, resilience and reinvention.
When your mum dies at 14 and you're watching it happen, something shifts inside. When you arrive in a new country with £3,100 in your pocket—half of it borrowed—you learn what matters.
Alex talks about communication trumping clinical skill every time, about choosing kindness when you're capable of violence, and why he'd rather be a brilliant generalist than a mediocre anything-else.
There's philosophy here, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of honesty that only comes from someone who's genuinely fought for everything they have.
In This Episode
00:02:15 - Qualifying in Romania and building an endodontics practice
00:03:10 - The shock of NHS dentistry
00:08:40 - Why leave Romania
00:18:45 - Finding mentor Kieran
00:20:05 - Arriving with £3,100
00:26:00 - How to choose courses wisely
00:26:45 - The occlusion eureka moment
00:32:05 - Why not endodontics in the UK
00:37:35 - Moving to Peterborough
00:42:45 - Building from zero patients
00:44:00 - Favourite courses and lecturers
00:52:40 - Communication beats clinical skill
00:58:15 - Growing up under Ceaușescu
01:08:25 - Losing his mother at 14
01:14:20 - Volunteering in trauma
01:17:10 - Near-death experiences
01:24:50 - Blackbox thinking
01:35:40 - Fantasy dinner party
01:41:55 - Last days and legacy
About Alex Buciu
Alex qualified in Romania in 2004 and built a successful endodontics-focused practice before moving to Northern Ireland in 2018, later settling in Peterborough. He works as a private associate, focusing on restorative dentistry, occlusion and TMD, with a particular passion for continuous education and patient communication. Despite significant personal challenges, including arriving in the UK with minimal resources, he's built a reputation as an excellence-driven clinician who believes communication matters more than clinical perfection.
There's something about meeting someone who's truly hungry to learn. Payman spotted it straight away when Sanaa Harroussi walked into his Mini Smile Makeover course—that rare fire in the belly.
But here's the thing: Sanaa's journey from Rabat to Paris to West London isn't just about collecting qualifications. It's about a woman who aced the ORE first time, built a fifteen-year career in the same practice, and then had everything turned upside down when her second son received a six-month life expectancy.
What follows is a masterclass in resilience, the art of not taking anything for granted, and learning when perfectionism helps and when it hurts.
In This Episode
00:00:45 - Introduction and first impressions
00:01:25 - Growing up in Rabat
00:02:20 - Competitive entry into dental school
00:02:50 - How dentistry happened
00:03:50 - The serious student
00:06:25 - Postgraduate training in Paris
00:07:15 - Paris versus London
00:09:20 - The ORE challenge
00:11:20 - Blackbox thinking
00:17:10 - Finding her first job
00:20:30 - NHS reality check
00:21:55 - Patient expectations
00:24:25 - Family life begins
00:26:30 - The diagnosis
00:29:45 - Fighting for treatment
00:32:00 - Life with disability
00:33:40 - One day at a time
00:38:20 - The improvement obsession
00:40:00 - Retreats and self-care
00:40:30 - Clinical loves and methods
00:43:25 - Rubber dams and labs
00:48:40 - The digital question
00:51:10 - Invisalign journey
00:57:15 - Fantasy dinner party
00:58:45 - Last days and legacy
About Sanaa Harroussi
Sanaa Harroussi trained in dentistry in Morocco before completing postgraduate studies in prosthodontics in Paris. She's been practising in West London for fifteen years, building her career in the same practice whilst raising three sons. When her middle child was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, Sanaa fought to secure him a place in a clinical trial that would save his life.
What happens when a complaint over a scale and polish changes everything? For Alif Moosajee, a GDC investigation became the catalyst that transformed him from a dentist flying under the radar into the owner of Oakdale, one of Leicester's most distinctive private practices.
This conversation charts his path from undergraduate struggles with imposter syndrome through the crucible of regulatory scrutiny to building a seven-surgery practice rooted in authentic patient care.
Along the way, Alif shares hard-won insights about guided implantology, the perils of well poisoners, and why breaking kayfabe—wrestling's term for dropping the performance—might be the most honest thing you can do for your patients. It's a story about choosing growth over comfort, one calculated risk at a time.
In This Episode
00:01:00 - The Smiling Dentist origins
00:02:20 - Tony Robbins and the power of physiology
00:15:00 - Undergraduate struggles and fixed mindset
00:16:25 - The GDC complaint that changed everything
00:22:20 - Buying Oakdale practice
00:26:40 - Growing up in Slough and choosing dentistry 00:31:55 - Building the practice vision
00:35:20 - Firing the well poisoner
00:38:30 - Custodian of the vision
00:47:00 - The unmeasurable things that matter most
00:53:30 - Surprise and delight tactics
01:00:25 - Contentment versus ambition
01:06:00 - The Tony Robbins business mastery mistake
01:09:00 - Dark days in practice ownership
01:19:00 - Blackbox thinking
01:24:15 - Switching to fully guided implants
01:28:30 - Fantasy dinner party
01:33:55 - Last days and legacy
About Alif Moosajee
Alif Moosajee studied dentistry at Birmingham and owns Oakdale Dental in Leicester, a seven-surgery private practice where he focuses on implant dentistry and digital workflows. Known as "The Smiling Dentist" from his book published over a decade ago, Alif has built his practice around immediate implant protocols and fully guided surgery following early clinical challenges that reshaped his approach to risk management.
Raj Ahlowalia's remarkable 33-year journey in a single practice reveals what true dedication to the craft looks like.
From almost missing university entirely to becoming an internationally recognised authority on functional occlusion, his story challenges everything we think we know about dental careers.
The son of a polyglot interpreter who hitchhiked from India to the UK, Raj stumbled into dentistry through a teacher's intervention, then methodically built expertise that took him from Biggleswade to the stages of Pankey and Spear.
His time on Extreme Makeover taught him the crucial difference between patients who want cosmetic work and those who genuinely need rehabilitation—a distinction that shaped his entire philosophy of practice.
In This Episode
00:07:15 - Father's extraordinary hitchhiking journey from India
00:19:20 - The accidental path to dentistry
00:39:25 - First job and VT experience
00:44:15 - Extreme Makeover TV breakthrough
01:13:15 - Teaching at Pankey and Spear institutes
01:28:00 - Blackbox thinking
01:31:40 - Forced retirement due to spinal issues
01:34:05 - Photography passion and flying adventures
01:59:25 - Learning NLP and hypnosis techniques
02:03:40 - Patient litigation experience
02:15:00 - Fantasy dinner party
02:15:25 - Last days and legacy
About Raj Ahlowalia
Raj spent his entire 33-year career at one practice in Biggleswade, evolving from VT to an internationally recognised expert in functional occlusion.
He taught at both the Pankey Institute and for Frank Spear, appeared on the Extreme Makeover TV show, pioneering the first implant shown on British television, and developed a comprehensive approach to full-mouth rehabilitation that emphasises function over pure aesthetics.
Ashkan returns to reveal how Southcliffe Dental transformed from near-bankruptcy to unprecedented profitability through a revolutionary therapist-led model. From losing half his body weight to facing GDC proceedings, he opens up about the personal costs of rapid expansion and the dark period when £4 million in clawbacks nearly destroyed everything. His ex-wife's intervention during his lowest moment becomes a turning point, leading to a complete business overhaul that's now attracting attention from private equity firms across the sector. Raw, unfiltered, and brutally honest about the realities of corporate dental leadership.
In This Episode
00:01:25 - Quality over quantity mindset shift
00:02:50 - The £4 million clawback crisis
00:06:00 - Revolutionary therapist business model
00:17:35 - Organisational restructure and delegation
00:25:30 - Leadership philosophy and high standards
00:30:50 - Physical transformation journey
00:46:45 - GDC proceedings and workplace allegations
01:04:25 - Blackbox thinking
01:17:05 - Clinical errors and patient management
01:23:15 - Business decisions and banking relationships
01:33:15 - Fantasy dinner party
01:08:45 - Last days and legacy
About Ashkan Pitchforth
Ashkan is the CEO and co-founder of Southcliffe Dental Group, which operates 24 mixed NHS practices employing around 400 people. He pioneered an innovative therapist-led delivery model that has revolutionised the group's profitability, taking EBITDA from zero to 7-8 million within two years. A clinical dentist turned entrepreneur, he's known for his direct leadership style and willingness to challenge conventional dental business models.
Two Iranian dentists who took the scenic route to British dentistry, Sara Khandan and Mahan Mohaghegh's story reads like a masterclass in adaptability.
From Tehran to Debrecen University in Hungary, then straight into the UK without ever having set foot in the country before, their journey showcases both the challenges and rewards of international dental careers.
Now transitioning from NHS to private practice, they share candid insights about navigating visa dependencies, cultural differences between healthcare systems, and why being top of your class doesn't guarantee an easy path.
Their conversation reveals how different countries approach dentistry, from Hungary's more invasive techniques to the UK's preventive focus, and why sometimes the most circuitous routes lead to the most rewarding destinations.
In This Episode
00:01:15 - Arriving in the UK without ever having visited before
00:03:30 - Why they chose Hungary for dental education over Iran
00:05:30 - First impressions of Hungary and cultural differences
00:08:25 - Military service requirements forcing early departure from Iran
00:10:15 - Financial challenges of studying abroad
00:13:10 - Hungarian education system: oral exams and luck factors
00:17:00 - Working in Hungary's NHS-equivalent system
00:19:15 - Cultural differences: Eastern European "egg" vs Western "peach"
00:25:15 - The decision to move to the UK post-Brexit
00:29:50 - Landing NHS jobs sight unseen
00:34:10 - Learning UK dentistry systems and mentorship importance
00:38:30 - NHS complaint system challenges
00:40:25 - The band system frustrations
00:43:25 - Visa dependency limiting job opportunities
00:47:00 - Transition to private practice
00:52:55 - Future aspirations: cosmetics vs surgical specialisation
00:59:15 - Darkest day: fear and uncertainty in early UK days
01:03:25 - Blackbox thinking
01:06:40 - TMJ dislocation during extraction
01:10:25 - Being top of class vs visa reality check
01:14:20 - Best dental lectures and mentorship value
01:18:20 - Fantasy dinner party
01:20:55 - Last days and legacy
About Sara Khandan and Mahan Mohaghegh
Sara Khandan and Mahan Mohaghegh are Iranian-born dentists who graduated from the University of Debrecen in Hungary before relocating to the UK. After three years of practice in Hungary's public healthcare system, they moved to the UK and completed two and a half years in the NHS before transitioning to private practice. Sara is pursuing advanced cosmetic dentistry training, whilst Mahan is focusing on surgical procedures and implant dentistry. Both are planning to eventually open their own practice within the next five to six years.
From knife crime in East London to owning one of the capital's most successful dental laboratories, Kash Qureshi's story is one of remarkable transformation.
At just 15, a violent altercation became the catalyst that changed everything, pushing him from a dangerous path towards an apprenticeship that would define his future.
Now owner of Swiss Dent and a thriving denture clinic, Kash shares the raw realities of growing up on the streets, the technical mastery required in dental technology, and the leadership skills needed to build a business.
This conversation explores how early adversity can forge unstoppable resilience, and why sometimes the most unlikely backgrounds produce the most determined entrepreneurs.
In This Episode
00:03:50 - Street life and knife incidents in Walthamstow
00:07:10 - Finding dental technology through newspaper adverts
00:11:15 - Apprenticeship training and specialisation paths
00:14:25 - Why crown and bridge got outsourced to CAD/CAM
00:17:00 - Clinical dental technician qualification and denture work
00:26:05 - Transition from employee to business owner
00:30:05 - Acquiring Swiss Dent with zero personal investment
00:34:00 - Cold calling and door-to-door client acquisition
00:39:30 - Clinical insights: overextended special trays revelation
00:42:10 - Swiss system for aesthetic denture setups
00:48:55 - Immediate loading implant techniques
01:08:25 - Managing 100-200 cases daily at the laboratory
01:18:25 - Blackbox thinking
01:24:25 - Cash crisis: when payroll meets empty accounts
01:26:40 - Fantasy dinner party
01:39:35 - Last days and legacy
About Kash Qureshi
Kash Qureshi is the owner of Swiss Dent laboratory in London and operates a clinical denture practice. Starting as a 16-year-old apprentice at the very lab he now owns, Kash has grown the business from 7 to 18 employees whilst developing expertise in prosthetics and digital denture technology. He qualified as a clinical dental technician at 23, making him one of the youngest in the country at the time, and now trains dentists in digital denture techniques.
Shameek Popat takes us on a remarkable journey from his early days as a Ugandan-born dentist to becoming a serial entrepreneur disrupting the oral care industry.
After 23 years of successful practice ownership, Shameek sold to Portman Dental and launched Tooth Angel, a luxury, eco-friendly oral care brand that's challenging the sustainability narrative in dentistry.
Now he's back with Disruptive Smiles, partnering with renowned educators to bring premium composite materials to UK dentists.
This conversation reveals a man who's never lost his childhood curiosity, whether he's crafting whisky blends, designing sustainable toothbrushes, or simply asking the big questions about contentment versus pleasure.
In This Episode
00:02:35 - Philosophy and losing senses
00:05:10 - Personal adaptability
00:07:40 - Contentment versus pleasure
00:09:10 - Beauty in imperfection
00:11:40 - Tooth Angel sustainability mission
00:16:50 - Research-backed product development
00:20:15 - Manual versus electric preference
00:24:30 - Dentist-made products
00:34:25 - Investment and funding strategy
00:50:35 - Uganda origins and Idi Amin
00:53:15 - Education journey to Manchester
00:57:50 - Dental school with Avi Banerjee
01:00:30 - Early practice ownership
01:04:30 - Kois transformation
01:15:20 - Team retention philosophy
01:20:10 - Whisky passion projects
01:24:00 - Practice sale emotions
01:26:40 - Disruptive Smiles launch
01:35:40 - Blackbox thinking
01:47:00 - Fantasy dinner party
About Shameek Popat
Shameek Popat is a Kois-trained dentist who spent 23 years building and running successful practices before selling to Portman Dental. He's the founder of Tooth Angel, a luxury eco-friendly oral care brand, and co-founder of Disruptive Smiles, which distributes premium composite materials alongside clinical education. Born in Uganda and educated across three continents, Shameek brings a unique global perspective to everything he creates.