This issue, Donald Morrison and Peter Byrne from Quadrant Dental Practice in Ayr talk about singing, Formula One and seeing what dentistry would be like in the year 22ı4
patients The joy in happy
What do you love most about your job ? Donald Morrison (DM) – I enjoy solv- ing puzzles. Solving patient’s problems and finding solutions to their issues can change their lives. Helping people in this way and getting them out of pain is a very rewarding part of my job, Another aspect that is particularly
gratifying is seeing phobic patients who are nervous and anxious initially, but leave happy and smiling and, most importantly, confident to then go on and attend any dentist.
Peter Byrne (PB) – From a young age I have always enjoyed creating and building using my hands. I suppose it’s a natural progression from Meccano to implants! However, it is the people factor that brings me to work every- day. We are in the fortunate position of being able to improve the quality of people’s lives and the reward is seeing someone happy with a positive outcome from the work that we have done.
If you weren’t a dentist, what would you be? DM – Believe it or not, I did leave den- tistry to work as a professional actor and singer in my distant past. I still have a passion for this sort of thing, occasionally working on music and theatre projects. I don’t think I would give up dentistry for this now but, if I had to choose another career, I would love to sing on stage, as it was some of the best times of my life. Assuming multimillionaire playboy and train driver weren’t available. PB – I must admit that I am in the
52 Scottish Dental magazine
privileged position that I completely love what I do and can’t imagine ever doing something else. However, if Fer- rari F1 offered me a contract, I’ve got the height to be a Formula One driver.
Best piece of technology you own (dental or otherwise)? DM – Our 3D CBCT scanner. It is simply the best piece of technology I’ve used and it has revolutionised my implant dentistry as well as my approaches to oral surgery, endodontology and peri- odontology. I am so much happier now that I can confidently plan predictable treatments that would otherwise have considerably more risk to the patient. I don’t think many other areas of medi-
cine accept “exploratory” surgery any more so why wouldn’t you visualise the bone properly prior to implant or bone augmentation? It’s changed mine and my patients’ lives enormously. PB – CBCT – not for every case, but it has made surgical treatment planning far safer and more predictable than traditional films. It gives a more accurate assessment pre-operatively to minimise mid and post-operative surprises.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? DM – “See a stick, cut it.” This is one of the hardest pieces of advice to follow, but the one that I do try to use whenever I can. Basically, it means just do the job that is in front of you, just get on with it. Often when I find everything overwhelm- ing and struggle to decide which task to tackle first, I fall back to this piece of
advice given to me. However, I believe that if you stick to this, things don’t get too overwhelming in the first place. PB – One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given is that you will always learn something from other people – even if it is how not to do things! Always have an open mind and be prepared to change the way you do things – even if you think your way is the best.
On a day off, what would we find you doing out of the surgery? DM – Spending time with my children: I have three daughters who take up a lot of my time – playing chauffeur and simply enjoying their company. If I do get a spare hour or so, I might go play squash or play music. I also have a great passion for good and bad films. PB – At present, changing nappies for our three-month-old son. If I can get any free time you’ll find me los- ing Titleists on the golf course.
Who’s your hero (dentistry or otherwise)? DM – This is very easy, my father Dr Alastair Morrison. He is a retired GMP but was one of the last true country general medical practitioners, at which he excelled. I come from a very large family and he was always a calm influence in an otherwise manically busy household. Like most children growing up, I prob- ably didn’t appreciate him as much as I should have but I now appreciate how hard he worked and the sacrifices both he and my mother made to bring up and educate all six of us, and yet he was still
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