After qualifying from King’s College London in 1997 (having already completed a degree in Biochemistry at Glasgow University) I worked as an Associate for two and half years. Following this I set up shop in a room within another dental practice. Buying my own practice was too expensive and did not make financial sense.
The room was located on the first floor and though not ideal, it was adequate for a dental chair and dental units. I had access to a dental X-ray unit and an autoclave, though both were at least 20 years old they sufficed. My patients would have to wait in small area on the ground floor where there were two chairs, though this would only be for a short time, I hoped it would be acceptable for my patients.
Vision
In time, I began looking for the ‘right premises’ but, for a long time but I just couldn’t find it. There was always a problem, either the rent was ridiculously high or the landlord wouldn’t sign proper contracts. Funnily enough, I found what I was searching for on Streatham High Street thanks to a patient of mine who knew someone who owned properties in that area. This was by far the best of what I had seen so far as it is one of the larger properties in the area and is located on the A23 which is the main road. Furthermore it is close to the train station, which has good links to central London making it accessible to many. There are also a lot of places to park as most residential roads offer free parking and there are two car parks close by. But, one of the other key factors was the landlord. He was willing to allow me to do what I needed and there was no hassle from him regarding what I wanted to achieve with the building.
I wanted to create a practice where the design perfectly represented the service we provided our patients. Pearl Dental specialises in cosmetic dentistry, so the overall look of the place was incredibly important. The practice had to feel modern and chic so this could reflect how we approach dentistry.
When I acquired the property it was an old derelict shop that was being used for storage. It hadn’t been used property for years and still had a lot of its old features. There was a basement which was 1.5 meters high and access to it was through a hole in the concrete floor. With a view to building a total of three surgeries and a CSD room, utilising the space in the basement was vital.
The most important factor when beginning any project is picking the right project manager for the job. I decided that I would need somebody who really knew what they were doing as I needed to work alongside someone that I could trust. Roger Gullidge, of Roger Gullidge Design was recommended to me by someone who had worked with him before. I didn’t know Roger so at first I didn’t trust him. I didn’t know who he was or enough about his company so I had reservations. Despite this, my solicitors gave him a ring and they spoke over the phone. They called me the following day and said they had spoken with Roger and were 100 per cent sure that he was right for the job. He was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about his work.
Planning
With Roger on board we were ready to progress, but there were issues with planning that needed to be sorted first. One was regarding a part of the building which used to have a lift in the 1930s which the neighbours wanted me to pay in the region of £25,000 for. Roger was able to speak with my solicitors and sort this out, in the end we got it without having to part with any money.
Another issue was concerning the air conditioning units that were to be placed at the back of the building. We felt that the residents may object to this so we didn’t feature it in our planning application from the start. Our plan was done in stages, so we had the planning permission and conservation consent for the shop front and then as the work proceeded there was another planning application regarding the air conditioning units at the back. If planning permission for both had been put in at the same time there may have been a lot of objection and we could have lost either one or both of the applications. So we began with the shop front and then put through planning permission for the air conditioning about six months into the build.
Roger was quick to point out that that the basement height could be increased allowing Pearl Dental to have two floors. In order to make the most of the space in the basement we began by taking out the floor of the shop. The shop floor had a high ceiling of about 5.2 metres which meant the height of the floor could be raised when put back in. This would heighten the ceiling of the basement and effectively create two floors, rather than one floor and a small basement.
I had originally wanted to put in a glass floor, but we soon found out that it was going to work out too expensive. The original price should have been £12k but this was getting on for £50k. It was because of fire regulations, not the fact it was a glass floor; which meant it had to be designed in a certain way with specific materials. We settled on a wooden floor which looks fantastic and gives the practice the timeless look we were after. We decided to put the stairs in at the front of the practice and by doing this we created a more open plan look. This means that natural light pours in through the large glass front of the practice and illuminates both floors of the practice.
Troubles
Having worked on a few other practices I have had dealings with builders before in this kind of environment. As the practice I was working at during the project was close by, I was able to be onsite everyday. I visited at 7am, during lunch and then again at 6pm to check on progress. I spent much of this time on the phone to Roger relaying things I was unsure about. He acted as a go-between for the builders and myself.
While working on Pearl Dental I did experience trouble from the builders. Some of them wouldn’t listen to my ideas, and one of them even went as far as saying, “You are a dentist, you get on with dentist work and we’ll do the building work”. Roger helped me out with these issues as he knows how to speak with builders. There were about two or three times where had Roger not got involved, I would have asked the builders to leave, which would have been a disaster.
One difficulty with the builders was regarding the front of the practice. There are glass paving lights which we had refurbished to subtly light up the line of the practice at night. When the builders were originally working on the structure of the practice they built it in a way that meant that the lights would not be entirely visible from the street. I told them that I wanted this changed and they wouldn’t listen to me, in fact they continued working on it for four days until Roger stepped in. He tactfully persuaded them to remove it and start from scratch. This was something he was very good at as he would listen to my ideas and be able to communicate them well. I was very fortunate because often Roger and I would have the same ideas; we worked very well together (though there were a few ideas that I came up with which Roger corrected me on).
Price
Regarding the overall cost of the practice, I realised the extent of how much it pays to shop around on the Internet. I was getting quotes of £40k for the air conditioning units from the people we intended to use. However, after shopping around online I found a company that would do it for £13k. Roger then contacted the original company (who were more reputable) with the figure and they agreed to match it. This way I got the units at the right price and from a company I could trust. I also used this technique when sourcing other parts for the practice, including the stairs, the floor and the chandelier. In total Roger must have helped me save £60k - £70k.
Result
Since opening everything has been perfect and my patients are very impressed with the look of the new practice. It is such a contrast to the cramped room I used to operate from. Patient comfort is one of my top priorities and Pearl Dental certainly allows for this. The project was a complete overhaul and took near enough nine months to complete, but we have been able to create a practice that perfectly resembles what I had set out to achieve.