Dentistry seems very different to me now than it did to when I was a young graduate in 1994, becoming a House Officer at Glasgow Dental School immediately following qualification.

Even when I started in implant dentistry in 1997/98 the investment and kit required in the NHS practice which I worked in seems a drop in the ocean to what is required now in setting up an implant dentistry service in a general practice.

At The Campbell Academy we would not suggest that people take on the commitment to a learning process in implant dentistry on the basis of solely a business decision. This is the road to ruin and a disaster because if you do not love surgery and restorative dentistry, you are unlikely to be good enough to satisfy your patients. Your business will suffer as a result.

The essence of a successful healthcare business is providing successful healthcare, taking on complicated procedures that can lead to further complications without being fully committed is an unwise decision.

If, however, you have a serious interest in surgery and restorative dentistry then it makes complete business sense to harness that interest for the benefits of your patients who will be happy to reward you for the provision of good care.

The investment though is not insignificant, both in time, emotion and finance. Think of the kit required to begin placing implants in your practice safely and securely with contingency in place.

Think of the training required for your staff, not only for looking after that kit but of assisting and understanding implant dentistry to be able to discuss with the patients.

Think of the cost of the training required and the mentoring and the advice, to take on a skill set that you have previously not undertaken to make sure that people are safe.

This is why returns on implant dentistry investment don’t happen in one year. It seems to me that too many people in dentistry take on training to provide dental implants without first having an honest conversation with someone in a knowledgeable position that they can trust. The road to being successful in implant dentistry is often sugar coated and it’s long, expensive but ultimately very rewarding; both spiritually, intellectually and financially, but only for those who do it properly.

At The Campbell Academy we are more likely to discourage someone from entering a course unless they understand this. They need to be happy to commit to a longer-term process of becoming good at implant dentistry from an educational perspective, a mentoring perspective but most importantly an ethical perspective.