A little about Richard
Richard is the principal dentist at two practices; The Barn Dental Clinic, Salisbury and the River Dental Clinic, Stockbridge.
He has been a Denplan Key Client since 2007 and his patients have access to a number of dental payment plans including: Denplan Care, (capitation plan) Denplan Essentials, (maintenance plan) Plans for Children, and he has also recently started offering patients the Membership Plan.
Both practices are Denplan Excel Accredited, offering patients exceptional standards in dental care.
Since joining Denplan I can spend more time with my patients, and I’m more financially secure."
Moving his patients to Denplan
Richard moved his patients to Denplan in 2007, mainly due to the constraints imposed by the new dental contract implemented by the NHS in April 2006.
“It was a difficult decision for us to move to private practice and not one we took lightly. We tried to resist the change, hoping that things would improve. Unfortunately, the new system made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the service that we felt our patients deserved. Both my business partner and I were aware that something needed to change.”
Enjoying the benefits
Denplan has helped Richard increase his patient numbers, enabling him to spend more time with each of them while still having the security of a regular income.
“With my patients on Denplan I can spend more time with them and get to know them better. I know more about their lifestyle, which helps me to give them advice on their oral health and wellbeing. I now see on average 15 patients a day and spend time answering their questions and discussing their oral healthcare.”
“I have always believed in preventive dentistry and it’s a great feeling to know that I am now not just offering reactive care, but helping to eliminate any problems before they arise. I also find that patients on Denplan rarely miss appointments as they don’t have the worry of unexpected bills and large payments.”
Another big difference is the reduced administration that my practice team and I manage."
“I used to deal with so much paperwork and now that has been alleviated by Denplan, freeing up time for the entire team. It has meant that we can get involved in marketing the practice, using resources that we previously did not have access to. I now use ACORN profiling, which helps me better understand my patients.”
“Not only is the practice developing and moving forward, I am also enjoying the benefits personally. I now work four days a week and feel like my work/life balance has dramatically improved. I have time to enjoy the things that I was not able to before, like watching football and getting involved in supercar driving days. I am currently in the process of building a new family home, a project that I am passionate about and now have the time to be more involved in.”
What the future holds
Richard plans to continue to develop his practice and is enjoying being a Denplan member:
“There are a number of payment plan specialists, that I did evaluate at the start, but I know that the support I get from Denplan, especially from my Consultant, is unrivalled.”
“I would not consider returning to the NHS. I feel like there is too much red tape and administration, and would not want to change the set-up that I currently have. Both my practice team and I are looking forward to what the future holds and we are proud of the service and care we provide our patients and grateful for the support that we receive from Denplan.”
