Book Recommendation

Just a quick line to recommend a book I have just finished, Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin. A fascinating insight into new media and marketing – well worth a look.

David recommends

Evolution of Springgrove

I have spent this week so far busy with my clinical activities, 99% of which have been rewarding and challanging. The ‘application running in the background’ however is the direction in which Springgrove and its team are going.

Springgrove Team

The main change to the day to day operations at the Clinic is that my appointment book is now zoned. Diane, my appointment book manager, has been working on this task for some weeks now and that effort is starting to bear fruit. The outcome for our customers will have a more efficient ‘journey’ through our clinic.

I am very grateful to all our loyal customers for their patience and understanding during this time, many of you will have had your appointments changed and I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. The great news is that we have opened our third clinical suite, primarily for the use of Jacqui and Phyllis, our new staff hygienists. I will get some images of the new personnel and the new clinical area and post them in the blog.

The final addition in this development phase is the creation of a private consultation area. This will allow our customers privacy for discussion with SGC team members. This could be financial, or administrative and it has already proved to be extremely useful.

As ever, everyone is welcome to come in to then clinic, have a coffee and see the improvements.

I am now booked on to the advanced courses necessary to bring the inclusion of Implant Dentistry to SGC one step closer. I will update you on my progress, since I know that many of you have expressed an interest in dental implants in the past – It won’t be long now till we are doing them!

Very exciting times.

Family Sunday – Transport Museum and Contemplation

Luke, Sam and me at The glasgow Transport Museum today

The car in the background Is one previously owned by my Grandfather, a 1921 Sunbeam Talbot. I felt quite emotional and a little sad today as I showed Dawn and the boys round the transport museum in Glasgow. I think I get my ‘petrol head’ from Grandpa Irvine and I know he would have loved to see round the exhibits on display today. I miss him.

It got me to realizing that a great deal of what I had been reading recently in Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” was very applicable to me. I suppose it’s the ‘nature nurture’ debate. He postulates that the nature/genetic part plays a far greater role than the environmental component, citing the example of twins, born of cigarette smokers, separated at birth and both reared in non smoking families being almost 100% likely to smoke. This compares to the 25% chance that the their non adoptive step brothers or sisters would. He further postulates that there is almost no evidence of the environmental influences’ effects. Food for thought. My Grandpa was car daft too…….

This probably explains why I subscribe to the late, and much missed Colin McRea’s saying, ‘ You can’t have enough Brake Horse Power or enough brakes’

Spent some time this weekend contemplating the meeting with Brian Rhoney of the Straumann Implant Company and had a really productive chat with a new contact of mine, James Hamill in Northern Ireland. James runs a specialist implant clinic, very successfully, and I am hoping that I can gain a great deal from seeing how he does things and I will be attending stage one of my Implant training in Derry during March. James and his wife run Blueapple Dental , check their website out at http://www.blueappledental.com. Thanks for your time and advice James.

Saturday at Springgrove Clinic was spent bleaching using the zoom system, five cases in all and a really good day.

Just been bleached!

Thanks to Stacey and Diane of the Springgrove customer care team who helped the ‘Zoom Saturday’ a great day.A ll the Zoomers, keep off the black coffee and red wine!

Afternoon spent with Straumann Rep. Implants at Springgrove!

Spent a really interesting afternoon at Springgrove clinic, talking to Brian Rhoney the representative of Staumann, the uk market leader in provision of dental implants. Its clear now that implants are going to be placed at Springgrove in the last quarter of this year.

Watch the blog for details.

Springgrove Implantology is in its earliest stages but a conception of an idea has occured.

Invitation to write an article

Nice invitation to write an article for some of the dental business press. Will need to dust down the writing skills.

I will post the article when it is published.

St Andrews Sporting Club Burn’s Supper

Thanks to Nat West Bank for a great night at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow at the above event. Great company, great food and entertaining speakers, especially Wilie Miller, Aberdeen and Scotland footballing legend. – laugh out loud funny.

view from the Nat West table

Good night had by all, special thanks to Innes Laing our Business bank manager for the invitation. Cheers Innes.

springgrove perio is born

deep in discussion

After our very successful clinical policy meeting at Dakota its full steam ahead for the coming week to start to put into action what we decided.

A clear difference between ‘maintenance phase’ and ‘periodontal management phase’ treatment.

The instigation of a ‘periodontal screening program’ for our existing members to incorporate the new advances in periodontal research and new techniques available.

A change in how we deal with the ‘diagnostics’ stage of our new patient consultations, affording our new patients the opportunity to meet the springgrove clinic periodontal management team at the earliest possible stage, giving the Dentists valuable diagnostic information.

Further development in the use of antibiotics in periodontal management.

springgrove perio is born!

Thanks to my team for their input today and their time.

It’s all part of being ‘authentic and remarkable’ in the words of Seth Godin.

Meeting our Clinical Hygienist team to formulate policy

Had a great meeting today up at the Dakota hotel off the M8 , myself, Dr Ross Henderson the other Dentist at Springgrove, Jacqui and Pylliss our new Hygienists were all there.
The aims of the meeting was to create our new criteria for the periodontal(gum health) program for the Practice and the oral health education policy for this year and beyond.

It has always been my professional goal to have prevention of dental problems at the heart of my Practice.

Our new Clinic has allowed this to become even more of a reality.

Here goes, post one. Bit of background.

Welcome to my blog, my thoughts, personal and professional ,on how I am seeing and experiencing the world in my various roles.

Current roles:

Husband of Dawn, father of Luke, Sam and soon to be added third child,son and brother,brother in law, uncle, friend and leader of Springgrove Clinic where I am responsible for 2000 patients and nine staff.

In all that I do I am striving to be authentic and remarkable.

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