Cambridge Masters Dental Implant Course

Hi everyone,

I felt I hadn’t written for a while and having just got back from a week in Cambridge undertaking my Masters in Implants I thought it was a great opportunity to let everyone know what I was up to for the week.

Firstly however, I’d like to start with a huge congratulations to Matt and Beth on the arrival of their beautiful baby girl Florence earlier last month. Most of us at Moreton Dental have little ones (even Claire’s 17 yr old is still a little one in our eyes!) and although sometimes the sleepless nights are tough, they are worth every second. We know Evie will be an amazing big sister and really look forward to meeting Florence soon.

So, I guess the main question is why was I in Cambridge and why when I already have a Diploma in Implants would I want to go on and do a Masters especially when I have 2 small girls, compete my horse Troy, undertake Triathlon’s and am currently building surgery 4 in preparation for Sally joining us in January as another associate? Good question! I regularly tell myself I must be a bit crazy but there is some method to the madness.

For me doing a Masters has nothing to do with me wanting more letters behind my name, as lets face it most people have no idea what those letters mean anyway! I bet you didn’t pick me as your dentist having any clue what my professional qualifications were but what you hopefully did do is when you sat in my chair you felt confident in my ability to look after you and provide the best treatment options for you and that doesn’t just come with luck. Of course, some dentist will always be naturally better than others but on the whole being good is about continuing to train and push ourselves out of our comfort zones. We also need to be very much aware of how quick technology moves on and its easy to get left behind. Just because we live in Moreton in Marsh, I still want our patients to get the best possible care that they would in a big city. I regularly get told ‘my London dentist does x, y, z’ which is fine but what I really want to say is ‘that’s great but so do we, we just don’t live in a metropolis to do it.’
So how will my Master’s help you guys? Well, I’ve had an intensive week revising surgical skills and got 98% in my OSCE, which is a practical exam where our examiners are watching over us with a fine-tooth comb (excuse the pun!). This is great because it ensures I haven’t gained any bad habits which I might not even have known I had picked up. Next, I get the course directors, Stuart and Richard who are at the absolute top of our profession giving me useful tips on how to improve. Being critical but in a positive way is so important for all of us to advance and the minute we think there’s nothing left to learn I think will be the day I close shop because literally every day should be a learning day. Likewise, it is also great to mix with other dentists who are pushing the boundaries of what we can do with modern technology and to keep up to date with new concepts. New concepts aren’t always a fix all solution but being aware of them and keeping a keen eye on their success rates is a must if you want to stay top of your game.

Finally though I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Craig, my husband who supports me and allows me to go off on these mad cap ideas while holding the fort. My 2 little girls, Indie and Tiggy who I miss terribly when I need to stay away but they have the best ‘big sister’ in Martha who looks after them so well I do sometimes question if they need me at all! My team at Moreton Dental who hold the fort and keep standards as high when I’m away as when I’m there; I might soon become redundant in my own practice they are so good! And finally, Jo-ann and Chris who look after Troy, literally the 2nd man in my life who I am competing on next week. Troy is the best pressure release valve ever; I hope I don’t let him down next week! So yes, life is full on, but I wouldn’t change it for the world and hopefully next time you are sitting in the chair thinking about having an implant you’ll feel reassured that although things can always go wrong, we’re constantly working on minimising those risks. I would also say to all of those that may be thinking of how rising living costs might be making you consider cheap and cheerful dentistry (of which I’m seeing more and more) please please think about how much I have to do and how much I have to sacrifice to place the best implant I can and then think about the person you might see for an hour or so with no idea of their experience or ethics and what their continuity of care will be if for some reason it didn’t go to plan.

As always, I look forward to seeing you all and until next time look after yourselves,

Much love,

Caroline x