Practice profile


experience Enhancing the patient


Natural materials and plenty of light give this practice a warm and welcoming feel, writes Bruce Oxley


F


or Barry Dace and Rachel Doody, the road to opening their own specialist periodontal practice in Dublin began


over 3,500 miles away in Minne- apolis, Minnesota. After graduating from Belfast in


ı999, working in Caithness, Scotland, and completing his MFDS in Edin- burgh in 200ı, Barry was accepted onto the prestigious periodontal specialist training programme at the University of Minnesota. The three-year periodontal training programme in Minneapolis is one of the longest established and well- respected in the US, with only three graduate students being accepted each year. So, when Dublin graduate Rachel


was accepted onto the same course the following year, it marked the beginning of a relationship that would span their professional and personal lives. After graduating – Barry in 2004,


Rachel in 2005 – they both headed back to Ireland and subsequently worked together at a specialist practice in Galway and a multi- disciplinary practice at the Galway Clinic. Then, after spells working independently in practices in Dublin, they decided to set up their own specialist periodontal practice. They settled on a property in


Booterstown, conveniently located near the city’s main road and rail


transport links. They bought the property in 2009, with work begin- ning early in 20ı0 when all the funding and planning permissions had been secured. Barry explained that they brought in DMOD Archi- tects early on in the process, which they felt was vital in achieving the right look and feel of the practice. Barry said: “They were absolutely instrumental in the feel, the focus and the design element of the practice. “We were very keen to keep the


theme clean but soft, using natural materials throughout. We wanted it to look clean but we didn’t want it to look like a hospital and be in any way intimidating for patients.” Using neutral colours and capturing as much natural light as possible was also key consideration for the main patient areas, with the architects managing to maximise the space and light available. Barry also explained builder


Patrick Sharkey’s experience of working in the dental sector was also vital. He said: “There is no substitute for a builder who has experience of doing dental practices. Because it lends a guiding hand to first-time practice owners such as ourselves.” Barry and Rachel say they never


“We were very keen to keep the theme clean but soft, using natural materials through- out”


wanted a large multi-disciplinary clinic, they were very focused on creating a small but clearly- defined specialist practice with periodontics at its core. Number ı6 Periodontics has three surgeries, all laid out exactly the same so Barry, Rachel and prosthodontist Padraig McAuliffe, can rotate between the surgeries as the work dictates. Alongside the core periodontal element of the business, Barry and Rachel also undertake implant placement and other surgical proce- dures as well as employing two part-time hygienists who offer main- tenance therapy. Over the last year, the Number ı6


team have also started to offer a year- long continuing education programme for dentists, co-ordi- nated by practice manager Michelle Leckie that has been very well received. From an initial expectation of a dozen or so dentists, there are now over 80 delegates registered.


® For more information about Number 16 Periodontics and their continuing education programme, visit their website at www.numberı6.ie


Ireland’s Dental magazine 41


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