Dental Leaders Podcast
Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi 397 episodes Nov 11, 2026
The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests. The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow.
Episodes
#368 Say Yes First — Connor Bryant & Priyam Patel
Connor Bryant and Priyam Patel met at King's College London dental school, where Connor was already running a side hustle selling loupes out of a bag at dental shows, after a batch he'd organised for twenty classmates arrived half-faulty and the original supplier stopped answering the phone. Priyam offered to work for him for free, invested his own money instead, and the two built Bryant Dental in
Mind Movers #50 — Jeff Foster
Mind Movers is back after a long break, and Rhona and Payman mark the return with Doctor Jeff Foster, an NHS GP who stumbled into men's health almost by accident, after realising male patients kept assuming he'd know the answers to questions no one in medicine was really trained to handle. Two decades on, he's co-authored national guidance on testosterone deficiency and become one of the most reco
#367 The Naked Soul — Esther Shirin
Esther Shirin returns to Dental Leaders under a new name, having first appeared as Sharon Walsh in episode 278 to talk about losing her practice, her marriage and her children during a breakdown that led to alcohol addiction and homelessness. This conversation picks up from there: she's written a book about everything that happened since, and Payman says plainly that reading it changed how he thin
#366 You Choose The Label — Rana Al-Falaki
Rana Al-Falaki opens by telling Payman what she's still struggling with, even now: the gap between how put-together she looks from the outside and how much she still has to fight to let people see the rest of it. She joins him as a specialist periodontist and laser research pioneer who built two award-winning practices, sold them, and then rebuilt her entire career as a performance coach after her
#365 Zero Bone Loss — Raid Ali
Raid Ali arrived in Cardiff in 1998 because a friend told him it was cheaper than London, and never really left. He joins Payman as a specialist implantologist and founder of Restore Dental Group, a five-practice business built from the three practices he and two business partners bought from their old boss, having qualified in Baghdad in 1996 and sat his exams in the UK with no family connection
#364 Beyond the Tools — Jameel Gardee
Jameel Gardee joins Payman to reflect on more than three decades in dentistry, from qualifying in Glasgow to undertaking advanced restorative training at Boston University and building a private practice centred on digital dentistry.He looks back on the people and experiences that shaped his career, why American dentistry changed his outlook, and how his approach to restorative treatment has evolv
#363 The Dentown Special
Dental Leaders goes live from Dentown for a special compilation episode bringing together seven voices from across dentistry, design, technology, entrepreneurship and beyond.Across a series of conversations with Payman, Galip Gürel explores the move from pioneering veneer techniques to developing robotic tooth preparation, and why precision matters more than speed. Nazariy Mykhaylyuk reflects on m
#362 The Girl That Survived — Kathryn Bell
Kathryn Bell was seventeen, six months into a school exchange trip to Kentucky, when a minor car crash jolted loose a brain tumour nobody knew was there. She joins Payman as a general dentist at Colosseum Dental in Chippenham and the group's key opinion leader for facial aesthetics, having spent over two decades qualified after a start to adult life that involved an emergency craniotomy, a com
#361 Unfinished Business — Dipali Dalia
Dipali Dalia wanted to be a barrister at fourteen, became a periodontist instead, and then went back and trained as a barrister anyway, in her forties, while still practising three days a week. She joins Payman as a specialist periodontist at Emsworth Specialist Practice near Portsmouth, having qualified as a dentist, specialised in periodontics at Guy's, and then, nearly two decades into a succes
#360 Was It Worth It — Bizhan Shokouhi
Bizhan Shokouhi didn't set out to be an oral surgeon, or even to specialise at all. He joins Payman as a specialist oral surgeon and implantologist working across private practice and Guy's Hospital, and teaching on the Bristol MSc in Implants, having spent his first year qualified convinced he'd end up a restorative dentist.He talks openly about the one thing he tells every trainee before they to
#359 That One Day — Anita Pradan
Anita Pradan pulled her car onto the hard shoulder of the motorway one day, cried, took her laptop out of the boot, and typed her resignation. She joins Payman as founder of Phoenix Dental Academy, having spent years running herself into the ground managing someone else's education business before deciding to build her own.She talks openly about the exam that took her five years longer than expect
#358 Trust Your Gut — Ben Barter
Ben Barter has never drilled a tooth in his life, but he's spent more time in dental events than most dentists. He joins Payman as co-founder of Dental Assembly, the latest venture in a career built entirely on getting corporates and suppliers into the same room, first at Open Rooms, then Dental Forum, and now running his own show.In between, there's a properly strange detour: a price comparison a
#357 Sink Or Swim — Bashar Alturk
Bashar Alturk has represented two countries at trampolining — Great Britain, then Jordan — and ruptured both his knees doing it, a year apart, once right before finals. He's also a final-year dental student at Leeds who bought his own phantom head and drill and set them up in his student room because the university wouldn't give him enough practice time.His ADHD diagnosis came late on purp
#356 Win The Day — Afzal Haque
Afzal Haque joins Payman as a specialist endodontist and owner of Stretford Road Dental Practice, along with its referral clinic M41 Indo, in South Manchester, having spent ten years as a general dentist before making the switch.He talks candidly about hating endodontics as a young dentist, the wife who talked him into rotary instrumentation and then, years later, into selling their house to fund
#355 The Caesar Method — Patrycja Galonzka
Patrycja Galonzka joins Payman as business manager at Aspire Smiles in Warwick, having worked her way up from trainee dental nurse to the top of the practice after moving to the UK from Poland at nineteen.She talks candidly about the loss that pushed her to stay in the UK rather than go home, and how years spent as a barista and waitress taught her more about handling people than any qualification
#354 Connect The Dots — Agne Malisauskiene
Agne Malisauskiene joins Payman as the clinical lead at the Baltic Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry and one of the world's best-known minimally invasive composite teachers, having trained thousands of dentists from her purpose-built facility in Vilnius.She talks candidly about swapping punishing NHS-style hours in Lithuania for a much gentler introduction to UK private dentistry, and how a year
#353 The Conference Kid — Shyun Patel
Shyun Patel joins Payman as a final-year dental student at Liverpool, best known for founding BDSA, the biggest undergraduate dental conference the UK has seen, and for buying his own practice before he's even qualified.He talks candidly about losing the Dental Society presidency election, the autoimmune diagnosis that reshaped how he thinks about time, and the fridge-flipping side hustle that
#352 Lift the Shield — Adrian Dray & Kautham Haran
Two CareStack men, one origin story that starts in a Covid ward. Adrian Dray talks Payman through the lead-management deal that nearly bankrupted him, and how that near-miss set him up to bring an American cloud practice management system into a UK market that, by his own admission, "really dislikes change." Kautham Haran, the ops brain to Adrian's front-of-house energy, explains how
#351 The Legacy Builder — Neil Sikka
Neil Sikka joins Payman to reflect on a career that has moved from single-surgery NHS dentistry in Bethnal Green to building a ten-practice London group, selling to Bupa, and now helping shape clinical strategy across one of the UK’s biggest dental organisations.He talks candidly about the Barbican Dental Care years, why he chose cultural fit over the highest offer when selling, and why he still p
#350 Dentistry 2040 — Andrew Bower
Recorded live at Bupa Dental Health Is Live, this Dental Leaders episode sees Payman joined by Andrew Bower from Philips Oral Healthcare for a sharp look at dentistry in 2040. The conversation moves from AI, robotics and connected toothbrushes to the bigger question of how oral health can become part of everyday whole-body care. Andrew explores Philips’ long-term view on prevention, consumer behav
#349 Doing the Right Thing — Ian Dunn
Ian Dunn didn't set out to become a periodontist. A chance encounter with a stranger in a hospital corridor, a course he took on a whim, and the absence of anyone else doing the job in Liverpool — that's how a specialism was born. In this episode, Payman sits down with Ian to trace a career shaped as much by happy accidents as by hard graft; from a comprehensive school kid who retook his A
#348 Agony Uncle — Sina Gilannejad
From pizza shop to Maxfax theatre — Sina Gilannejad's route into dentistry is anything but straightforward. Born in Northern Ireland to Iranian parents, Sina brings a rare blend of warmth, self-awareness, and hard-won clinical confidence to this conversation. He opens up about the anxiety that drove him towards DCT, the perfectionism that almost derailed him, and how a stint in maxillofacial s
#347 Bring the Energy — Meghan Chard
Meghan Chard is many things at once — principal dentist, practice owner, mum of three, and quietly passionate evangelist for childhood airway health. In this episode, she sits down with Payman for a wide-ranging conversation that takes in meeting her husband Simon at dental school, buying his family's Leicestershire practice a month before their first child arrived, and the very particular cha
#346 First Principles — Henry Totterdell
What happens when a mechanical engineer spends a decade fixing factories, then walks away from it all to start dental school at 34? Henry Totterdell joins Payman to tell that story. He talks about the years spent solving problems on aircraft carriers and chemotherapy production lines, the slow-burning itch to do something with his hands, and why he finally took the plunge. Along the way they get i
#345 Do the Thing — Ali Al-Hassan
Ali Al-Hassan is the walking embodiment of work hard, play hard — a young dentist who's gone from associate to super associate, practice co-owner and globe-trotter, all while building a following that brings patients straight to his chair. In this episode, he and Payman get into what really separates an ordinary associate from a "super" one: bringing in your own patients, owning your fees, and tre
#344 The Package Deal — Ashley King & Sophie Lovett
Ashley King and Sophie Lovett run the international side of Pearl, the AI company that reads dental radiographs — and they turn up as a self-confessed package deal. The chat starts with what the tech actually does (a second opinion for clinicians, and a way to help patients finally see what's going on in their own mouths), but it doesn't stay there for long. Payman, Ashley and Sophie get i
#343 Serendipity — Tara Renton
Professor Tara Renton OBE brings four generations of dental history — and a career built on curiosity rather than ambition — to her conversation with Payman. From navigating undiagnosed dyslexia and a father who begged her not to follow him into dentistry, to becoming the first female chair of oral surgery at King's College London, her story is one of serendipity, resilience, and an almost obs
#342 Looking for the Edge — Mike Gray
Mike Gray's path to dentistry was anything but straightforward — and that's precisely what makes this conversation so compelling. A former semi-professional mountain biker who raced the World Series across three disciplines, a musician who once had the head of Universal Publishing sitting in his living room in rural Wales, and a dentist who spent years doing everything he could to avoid de
#341 Underestimated — Rawa Jawad Quinn
Rawa Jawad Quinn is a dentist-turned-tech founder whose restless energy and refusal to be underestimated have shaped every chapter of her career. In this episode, she tells Payman about growing up in Chelsea after her Iraqi family fled Kuwait with nothing, studying in Liverpool, and working across 16 dental practices before channelling her frustrations into Medicube — a consent and patient communi
#340 Exit at the Peak — Andy Acton
Andy Acton returns to the Dental Leaders hot seat for a proper deep-cut conversation about the business of owning a dental practice — from first purchase right through to the exit. Payman and Andy cover the current market (spoiler: banks still love dentists, and buyers far outnumber sellers), before getting into the real meat of the episode: owner fatigue. Andy breaks down the five categories of b
Mind Movers #49 — Vanita Rattan
In this lively and layered episode of Mind Movers, Vanita Rattan joins Rhona and Payman to talk about medicine, entrepreneurship, motherhood and the sheer force of personality it takes to build something different. She traces her path from UCL medical school to formulating skincare for skin of colour, then opening clinics around the world before Covid forced a brutal pivot into social media and di
#339 Crack On — Ali Hashemizadeh
At just 27, Ali Hashemizadeh is doing things most dentists twice his age haven't managed — two private associate roles, a growing reputation as an endodontist, and the kind of self-awareness that usually takes a decade to develop. In this episode, Payman sits down with the Newcastle-based, Aberdeen-raised, Iranian dentist to trace the path from a rocky first year on the NHS to finding his feet
#338 Show, Don’t Tell — Grant Goodstein
Grant Goodstein isn't a dentist — and that might be exactly why this episode is so refreshing. An American tech exec turned practice owner, Grant moved to London for love (a Hannah Montana-inspired trip to LA, a dating app, and a last-minute Vegas concert, if you can believe it) and ended up buying a mixed NHS practice in Fulham with his wife, Leah. What follows is a masterclass in what happen
#337 Extraordinary Experiences — Mehy Lo Presti
Mehy Lo Presti joins Payman on the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation that's equal parts origin story and quiet manifesto. Raised in the heartland of La Mancha by a Palestinian father and Italian mother, Mehy arrived in London in 2015 with barely any English, no NHS number, and — as it turns out — very little interest in following the conventional path. He's since built a reputation n
#336 Boss Moves: Doing Good by Doing Well — Andy Sloan
Prav is back in the host's chair for a conversation that's quite literally close to home — Andy Sloan is his boss. Andy is the MD of Agilio, the dental software and compliance platform, and a man who has overseen well over a hundred practice acquisitions throughout his career. But before any of that, he was a council house kid from the Wirral, running paper rounds at 14, pulling pints at 1
#335 Hard Reset — Zain Remy
This week, Payman sits down with Zain Remy, a Newcastle-based practice owner whose path to dentistry was anything but straightforward. After missing out on dental school the first time round, Zain took the pharmacology route, grafted his way through eight years of study, and eventually qualified from King's College London in 2016. What followed was a decade of pivotal decisions — a golden hand
#334 A Little Jesus — JW Oliver
This week, Payman chats with JW Oliver — serial entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and the man behind Support DDS, the largest dental insourcing company in the US. JW's story begins well below the poverty line in Texas and winds through dental equipment, bankruptcy, and a fateful meeting at a Christian marriage conference that led him to Zimbabwe — and ultimately to building a 1,700-strong
#333 The Four Pillars — Mike Hesketh
What happens when a Royal Marine Commando dentist who spent six months being ambushed on every patrol in Helmand Province turns his hand to building dental businesses? You get Mike Hesketh: serial practice owner, consultant, and one of the more quietly formidable figures in UK dentistry. In this episode, Payman sits down with Mike to trace a story that runs from a North Wales council estate and th
Mind Movers #48 — Neelima Patel
Mind Movers is back — and what a return. Rhona is fresh from maternity leave (and a rather eventful ICU stay) and she's brought a guest who needs little introduction: cosmetic dentist Neelima Patel, known to fans of Married at First Sight UK as the woman who handled an absolute car crash of a match with extraordinary grace. This episode covers a lot of ground. From Neelima's route into den
#332 Action, Result — Bilal Ahmed
Most dentists are brilliant clinicians and hopeless with numbers — and Bilal Ahmed has built a career filling exactly that gap. A chartered accountant and tax adviser who stumbled into the dental world through his wife's professional circle, Bilal brings a corporate finance sharpness to a profession that's long been underserved by the accounting industry. In this episode, Payman and Bilal
#331 The Minefield — Nasser Syed & Chez Bright
Nasser Syed is a man who doesn't really do stillness. With a background in oral surgery and conscious sedation, he's pivoted from five clinical days a week to running a growing group of practices, training dentists, and launching a brand new facility hire venture aimed at super associates who'd rather focus on their dentistry than deal with the headaches of practice ownership. Joining
Everyone Else Is Taken - NAIL-IT with Payman Langroudi
What happens when you turn the microphone on the man who's spent years behind it? In this episode of the NAIL-IT podcast, Rana and Bav get Payman Langroudi — host of Dental Leaders and Clinical Director at Enlighten — firmly in the hot seat. It's a wide-ranging, refreshingly candid conversation that moves from the origins of Enlighten and the relentless pursuit of world-class quality to th
#330 Analytics and Aortas — Daniel Jones
Payman chats with Daniel Jones, the Cambridge-educated entrepreneur who's bringing analytical rigour to dental practice management. Daniel shares the dramatic health journey that redirected his path from investment banking into healthcare innovation, revealing how a near-miss diagnosis of a life-threatening heart condition shaped his mission. The conversation explores the technical challenges of b
#329 Sandhurst to Scotland — Amber Aplin
Payman chats with Amber Aplin, who's carved out something genuinely different in the Scottish Borders. From military dentist to biomimetic practice owner, Amber's journey takes in Germany, Iraq, private equity, and ultimately building a practice that puts prevention and patient education at its core. She talks candidly about the realities of military life, the loneliness of early practice ownershi
#328 No Ego Zone — Payvand Menhadji
This week Payman chats with Payvand Menhadji, a newly qualified specialist periodontist who's navigating the delicate balance between clinical excellence and impending motherhood. At 30 weeks pregnant, Payvand reflects on her journey from general dentist to specialist—driven by a competitive streak and a love for surgical challenge that emerged during her VT year. The conversation weaves through e
#327 Start, Scale Exit & Life — Prav Solo
In this solo episode, Prav Solanki shares a no-nonsense reflection on business, health, family and personal discipline as he looks ahead to 2026. After a turbulent end to the year involving a family health scare, he talks through the non-negotiables shaping his daily life, from strength and cardio to carving out space for strategy. But the real centrepiece is business — specifically his Start, Sca
The Horton Hangout — Laura Horton & Leanna Best
The tables turn this week as Payman hangs out with Laura and Leanna on The Horton Hangout. What starts as a chat about the challenges of being interviewed rather than interviewing quickly evolves into something deeper—an honest exploration of ambition, sacrifice, and what it means to build something meaningful whilst trying to hold onto the people you love. From managing business partnerships and
#326 True Kindness — Niki Keyhani
This week, Payman chats with Niki Keyhani, a newly qualified specialist prosthodontist who's already built something remarkable. Seven years out from qualification, she's opened a squat practice, completed her specialist training at King's, and somehow managed to do both simultaneously during a pandemic. What really stands out isn't just the clinical achievement—it's the way sh
#325 Clinical Psychology — Richard Porter
Richard Porter joins Payman to explore the meeting point of clinical dentistry and psychology. From his early struggles adapting to London dental school after growing up in rural Kent, to his current work exploring personality psychology and emotional intelligence in practice, Richard challenges conventional thinking about what makes a truly skilled dentist. He argues that feelings are the currenc
#324 Course Correction — Zaid Esmail
In this episode, orthodontist Zaid Esmail opens up about what really matters in patient care—and it's not just straight teeth. From calling every patient the week after fitting braces to navigating the tension between NHS pragmatism and private practice perfectionism, Zaid reveals why communication trumps technique every time. He shares the terrifying moment a patient swallowed a spring mid-tr
Mind Movers #47 - Anne-Sophie Flury
This expansive and deeply reflective episode features Anne-Sophie Flury — neuroscientist, psychology graduate, former PhD researcher, and wellness educator — whose work bridges hard science with lived human experience. Known online as “Coochie by Gucci,” Anne-Sophie brings rare honesty and intellectual clarity to conversations about the brain, trauma, intuition, and emotional agency.Rhona and Paym
#323 Driven — Chiara Burgio
Chiara Burgio's path to dentistry started with a Parisian psychoanalyst and a ten-minute stare. What followed was an international training odyssey—from Madrid to Milan, Brazil to NYU—that shaped her approach to aesthetic dentistry. In this conversation, she opens up about the pull of digital workflows, the art of composite layering, and what it really means to work alongside someone like Chri
#322 100 Practices — Deepa Patel
In this episode of Dental Leaders, Payman chats with Deepa Patel, a locum dentist with the unique experience of working inside over 100 different practices. Having held every role from nurse and receptionist to practice manager before qualifying, Deepa shares why the happiest practices aren't always the most high-tech, and why the most profitable dentists aren't always the most skilled.The
#321 All In — Adeel Ali
This week, Payman sits down with Adeel Ali, an implantologist who's taken the kind of risks most dentists only talk about. Seven years qualified and he's already built multiple UK practices, mastered full-arch implantology including zygomatics, and most recently moved his family to Qatar to open a clinic from scratch—all whilst flying back every three weeks to maintain UK commitments. The
#320 The Student President — Fabian Farbahi
In this Dental Leaders episode, Payman sits down with Fabian Farbahi, a 22-year-old Sheffield dental student who's already mastered something most people spend decades learning: the power of genuine conversation. Fabian spends 3.5-hour train journeys striking up chats with strangers because he's fascinated by people's stories—the same curiosity that drove him to become president of She
#319 The Network Effect — Nikhil Sethi
Nik Sethi returns to the podcast four years after his first appearance alongside brother Sanjay, and what's changed reads like a masterclass in professional evolution. Now president of BAAD and founder of the Elevate education platform, Nik's story isn't about flashy techniques or groundbreaking discoveries—it's about something far more valuable. He's built his success on a sim
#318 The Pivot — Randeep Singh Gill
When a slipped disc ends your dental career at its peak, what comes next? Randeep Singh Gill's story isn't about endings—it's about radical reinvention. A digital dentistry enthusiast whose career was built on precision and routine, Randeep found himself confronting an identity crisis when chronic neck pain forced him away from practice. But here's where it gets interesting: instea
#317 Foundation Friends — Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi
Best friends Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi met at King's dental school and have remained inseparable ever since. In this episode, they share their journey from different backgrounds—Alisha's upbringing in Zambia and Natalie's roots in a medical family—to navigating their foundation years together. Their paths are diverging professionally, with Alisha drawn to implants and oral surge
#316 Beyond the Boxes — Aditi Bhalla
Aditi Bhalla's story reads like a cautionary tale about high achievement. A specialist prosthodontist who ticked every box—academic success, specialist training, teaching positions—she found herself breaking down in surgery in 2018, asking the question so many high achievers eventually face: is this it? After developing De Quervain's tenosynovitis from repetitive movements and stress, Adit
#315 Fighting Forward — Alex Buciu
Alex Buciu's story reads like something from another era. From endodontics in Romania to amalgams in Northern Ireland, his path through dentistry mirrors a deeper journey through loss, resilience and reinvention. When your mum dies at 14 and you're watching it happen, something shifts inside. When you arrive in a new country with £3,100 in your pocket—half of it borrowed—you learn what mat
#314 The Fire Within — Sanaa Harroussi
There's something about meeting someone who's truly hungry to learn. Payman spotted it straight away when Sanaa Harroussi walked into his Mini Smile Makeover course—that rare fire in the belly. But here's the thing: Sanaa's journey from Rabat to Paris to West London isn't just about collecting qualifications. It's about a woman who aced the ORE first time, built a fifteen-y
#313 Breaking Kayfabe — Alif Moosajee
What happens when a complaint over a scale and polish changes everything? For Alif Moosajee, a GDC investigation became the catalyst that transformed him from a dentist flying under the radar into the owner of Oakdale, one of Leicester's most distinctive private practices. This conversation charts his path from undergraduate struggles with imposter syndrome through the crucible of regulatory s
#312 The Functionalist — Raj Ahlowalia
Raj Ahlowalia's remarkable 33-year journey in a single practice reveals what true dedication to the craft looks like. From almost missing university entirely to becoming an internationally recognised authority on functional occlusion, his story challenges everything we think we know about dental careers. The son of a polyglot interpreter who hitchhiked from India to the UK, Raj stumbled into d
#311 Rebuilding — Ashkan Pitchforth
Ashkan returns to reveal how Southcliffe Dental transformed from near-bankruptcy to unprecedented profitability through a revolutionary therapist-led model. From losing half his body weight to facing GDC proceedings, he opens up about the personal costs of rapid expansion and the dark period when £4 million in clawbacks nearly destroyed everything. His ex-wife's intervention during his lowest
#310 The Long Road Home — Sara Khandan and Mahan Mohaghegh
Two Iranian dentists who took the scenic route to British dentistry, Sara Khandan and Mahan Mohaghegh's story reads like a masterclass in adaptability. From Tehran to Debrecen University in Hungary, then straight into the UK without ever having set foot in the country before, their journey showcases both the challenges and rewards of international dental careers. Now transitioning from NHS to
#309 Against the Odds — Kash Qureshi
From knife crime in East London to owning one of the capital's most successful dental laboratories, Kash Qureshi's story is one of remarkable transformation. At just 15, a violent altercation became the catalyst that changed everything, pushing him from a dangerous path towards an apprenticeship that would define his future. Now owner of Swiss Dent and a thriving denture clinic, Kash shares the ra
#308 On the Rocks — Shameek Popat
Shameek Popat takes us on a remarkable journey from his early days as a Ugandan-born dentist to becoming a serial entrepreneur disrupting the oral care industry. After 23 years of successful practice ownership, Shameek sold to Portman Dental and launched Tooth Angel, a luxury, eco-friendly oral care brand that's challenging the sustainability narrative in dentistry. Now he's back with Disruptive S
#307 Risky Kiss — Dev Patel and Kailesh Solanki
This fly-on-the-wall conversation between Kailesh Solanki and Dev Patel, founder and CEO of Dental Beauty Partners (DBP), captures the remarkable 20-year journey of Kiss Dental, from a risky startup in a Flixton suburb to an eight-clinic powerhouse.Kailesh Solanki reveals how he mortgaged himself to the eyeballs at just two years post-graduation, survived near-bankruptcy, weathered a catastrophic
#306 Building Together — Gauri Pradhan & Shivani Bhandari
Two remarkable women share their extraordinary journey from India to building three thriving NHS practices in the UK. Gauri Pradhan and Shivani Bhandari discuss their innovative therapist-led model that's revolutionising NHS dentistry, creating happy workplaces where staff genuinely want to be. From navigating the brutal ORE exam process to developing a groundbreaking patient app, they reveal
#305 El Dentista — Patric Saraby
Fresh from Barcelona's dental schools and thrust into the realities of UK practice, Patric Saraby brings a refreshing perspective on what it truly means to start a dental career. This Iranian-born, multilingual dentist shares his journey from A-level disappointment to Spanish success, and now to the coalface of NHS dentistry in Bournemouth. With brutal honesty about clinical mistakes, cultural
#304 Bashing the Gnash — Hap Gill
Hap Gill takes us on a fascinating journey from his early days "bashing the Nash" to becoming a pioneer in comprehensive dentistry and communication. With characteristic honesty, he shares how a transformative experience at the Pankey Institute opened his eyes to occlusion and patient care, whilst his unexpected background as a dating coach revolutionised his approach to patient communic
#303 The Force — Mahmoud Ibrahim
Mahmoud Ibrahim, known as the "Occlusion Ninja," transforms the complex world of occlusion into practical, everyday dentistry wisdom. From nearly abandoning his dental career to becoming one of the UK's most sought-after occlusion educators, Mahmoud shares his journey of obsessive learning and the simple truth that changed everything: occlusion is just force management. He reveals co
#302 Kiran Malviya - Respect, Rebellion, and the Queen of Hearts
In this powerful episode of the Dental Leaders Podcast, Prav sits down with Kiran Malviya, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at Straumann Group EMEA.Kiran’s story is one of quiet defiance, cultural grace, and relentless ambition.From a traditional Indian upbringing in Nagpur to global leadership at Philips and now Vice President of Enterprise Solutions at Straumann Group EMEA, Kiran has walke
#301 Incidental — Chris O'Connor
Chris O'Connor opens up about his journey from academic burnout to building Incidental, sharing hard-won insights about workaholic tendencies, clinical mastery, and the realities of running a dental supply business. This episode explores the darker side of perfectionism, the complexity of clinical decision-making, and how childhood experiences shape professional drive. O'Connor discusses everythin
#300 Breakfast with Rob van Geffen – Leadership, Legacy and Letting Go
Prav returns to host this deeply personal conversation with Rob van Geffen, Chief Marketing Officer at Straumann, who shares his extraordinary journey from a carefree childhood in the Netherlands to leading one of dentistry's most influential organisations.In this deeply personal conversation, Rob explores how energy shapes every interaction, why vulnerability became his greatest leadership st
#299 The ICON — Kiran Shankla
Kiran Shankla's journey reveals the transformative power of persistence paired with strategic self-reflection. From a sports-loving teenager who initially resisted academic pressure to a multi-award-winning dentist specialising in minimally invasive techniques, her story demonstrates that success often comes through consistent effort rather than natural talent. Through setbacks in Australia, rigor
#298 All-In — Mahsa Balaie
Mahsa Balaie embodies the truth that sometimes life's biggest detours lead to its greatest destinations. From engineering to Spain, from associate to practice owner, her journey reveals the power of diving in completely when opportunities arise. Through personal struggles, professional challenges, and the complexities of balancing motherhood with business ownership, Mahsa demonstrates that success
#297 Six Pack — Solmaz Samae
Doctor Solmaz Samae embodies the power of authenticity in dentistry—someone who speaks her truth with refreshing honesty. From building a successful business empire in Iran to studying dentistry in Latvia at 30, her unconventional journey reveals what happens when passion meets persistence. Now practising across multiple settings whilst building a thriving YouTube presence, Solmaz demonstrates tha
Mind Movers #46 — Lalalaletmeexplain
This compelling episode features Lala, the anonymous voice behind "Lalalaletmeexplain" - a former social worker turned influential author who's helped thousands recognise red flags and find their worth. Rhona and Payman explore deeply personal territory as Lala shares her childhood trauma, decade-long career in child protection, and the systemic failures she witnessed firsthand. The
#296 The Connector — Andrew El-Khanagry
Andrew El-Khanagry's journey from anxious young associate to confident practitioner reveals the transformative power of purpose-driven dentistry. Five years out from dental school, this Egyptian-born dentist has navigated the challenges of perfecting his craft while building Mobile Smiles, a charity bringing dental care to underserved communities worldwide. Through candid conversations about clini
