Practice profile Continued »


you in a chair and closing the room door behind you.” Two further practices were opened


in Cork and Galway the following year and in 2007 it was decided to expand the service to offer the full range of general dentistry. The following year a specialist orthodontic clinic in Dublin 2 was added to the Smiles stable under Hugh’s direc- tion. Having worked as a single-handed orthodontist in his own practices, this gave Hugh the opportunity to work with specialist colleagues and it was an experi- ence he relished. By this time the chain owned ı7 practices


and in 20ı0 Emmet took over the UK chain James Hull and Associates. Hugh’s role in Smiles was, by this time, much reduced and in 20ı4 the UK and Irish operations were bought by Oasis Dental for €36m. Following the sale, Hugh realised that


“there was something of a vacuum in my life and I missed the collegiality of the orthodontic practice that I had been part of in Dublin 2”. So, he decided to open up an orthodontic


clinic in Dublin using all the experience he had gained in his career and building on the team spirit he enjoyed during his time at Smiles. With a particular interest in juvenile orthodontics, he settled on the Donnybrook area because of its close proximity to so many schools and also close to his home in Ballsbridge. However, finding an affordable building


with the kind of floorspace that he felt he needed – close to 200sqm – proved to be a difficult proposition. However, after three months of searching Hugh was alerted to a prime site in the heart of Donnybrook. It


I liked the transformative effect so much that the same work has been commissioned in Dundalk as well


was originally part of the post office which had been sub-divided into separate units. The unit was next door to a coffee shop, with a car park across the road and its own 80sqm garden. With his experience designing practices


for Smiles, Hugh managed to finalise the design and layout in a few days and then he brought on board his project manager Vince who had also worked with Smiles on a number of projects in the past. Once he had the plans, Vince managed to get the work completed within four months and the new practice was ready to open in November 20ı4. Hugh commissioned a large body of


artwork from Irish contemporary artist Abigail O’Brien and he was delighted with the results. He said: “The work is colourful, alive pop-art in ı5 large photographic pieces. It transformed the space, making the most of the large amount of wall space and high ceilings. I liked the transforma- tive effect so much that the same work has been commissioned to transform the Dundalk office as well.” Hugh had already rebranded the Dundalk practice as Ortho, having secured the business name and web domain www.ortho.ie back in 2007, and the new practice took on the same branding. He explained: “Traditionally, the dentist’s name was the brand, the puller and loyalty holder. In dental circles the word ‘ortho’ is synonymous with ortho- dontics – as in “my child is having ortho”. However, for the public I was aware that it was up to me to create the link that ortho equals orthodontics. “The tag-line ‘Straight Talking Ortho- dontics’ was chosen because it said exactly what I felt we were about.” Hugh has taken on two “super specialist orthodontists: in Muireann O Donovan and John O’Mahony who he says are getting busier and busier. He said: “Our plan is to develop the


‘Inform before your perform’ idea as far is it can be taken. “Treatment timelines are prepared for


each patient in what we call an Ortho- Map and the installation of an iTero 3d scanner enables us to be ‘plaster-model’ free while being able to show 3D treat- ment simulations to patients even before treatment starts.” Looking to the future, Hugh says he has


no more plans to open any more clinics. He said: “Orthodontic services are specialist led and do not lend themselves to fran- chising. Expertise is difficult to spread. “My intention is to direct Ortho


Donnybrook towards excellence in treatment and to provide an unmatched service to referring dentists.”


Ireland’s Dental magazine 43


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