New practice
Perthshire R
A plus for
The picturesque village of Alyth has a dental practice again after a gap of a few years, thanks to Lothian-based dentist Paul Roberts
esidents in rural Scot- land sometimes feel overlooked when it comes to the provi- sion of dental services.
However, those living in and around the picturesque village of Alyth in Perthshire have a new practice to serve their needs thanks to Lothian- based dentist, Paul Roberts. It was a family link and some
special pleading by local people that brought Paul to the village. He explained: “My wife used to live in Alyth and, around five or six years ago when I visited regularly, people would often say to me, ‘We’re crying out for a dentist here. We’ve not had one for years.’” In fact, the previous practice had
closed some time before. It had been an outreach of a Perth-based dentist, but when a choice between refurbishment and closure had to be made, the doors were shut and
patients moved en masse to the practice’s main base. Aware of the latent demand and
with his first centre well established in West Calder, Paul kept a look out for a prospective new base in Alyth. “I first saw the property up for sale
around two years ago and thought it would be perfect. It is a ground floor shop with on street parking. It has wonderful large windows that provide lots of light.” With sufficient time on his hands
to get a new practice up and running, he decided to make his move. The building had been used for
a variety of purposes in the past including a mini-market and a pet shop. Taking a hands-on approach to the initial development Paul enlisted one of his friends to begin the basic restoration. “We stripped the whole shop back and once that was done it was relatively straightforward for the builders.”
The architects and builders in question were Glasgow firm NVDC. According to Paul, working with the firm was relatively straightforward. “They came in, surveyed the prop- erty and came up with a number of design possibilities. I tweaked things a little, we agreed a final design and applied for a building warrant in November 2013. It was approved in December and building work began in February.” The design finally selected made
“One of the big
challenges was space. There was no room to spare but the design NVDC came up with was really clever”
the most of building’s advantages, including its three very large windows. Making the environ- ment as pleasant as possible for patients and staff, there was an emphasis on making the best use of the natural light. That included an open plan approach wherever possible and practical, and the use of light-enhancing features such as glass walls. “One of the big challenges was
space,” added Paul. “There was no room to spare, but the design NVDC came up with was really clever. It manages patient flow in an imagina- tive way, while exploiting the limited space by, for example, turning cupboards into seating areas.”
Continued » Scottish Dental magazine 45
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