PRACTICE PROFILE  SOUTHSIDE DENTAL CARE


SISTER ACT I


Jim Killgore visits an award-winning Edinburgh dental practice that is truly a family affair


N 2008, Leanne Branton opened a “squat” NHS dental practice in a former GP surgery in Edinburgh. Starting such a business from scratch would be a daunting prospect for any dentist but


for a 27-year-old only five years out university it seemed particularly audacious. Leanne had been working as a part-time associate dentist at Optical


Express but also doing sessions for the prison service and as a civilian dentist for the army. “I had decided that I wanted to own a practice and just kind of rolled with the idea and it snowballed,” she says. “I soon realised that I had the dental skills but very little management skills. It’s an area I’d not done any training in; there’s not an awful lot of it in dental school.” But it just so happened that help was close at hand. Leanne was then sharing a flat with her younger sister Aimi, who had a background in hospitality and retail management and at the time was running a nightclub. Together they hatched a business plan that was to evolve into Southside Dental Care – a mixed NHS and private practice which in 2016 was awarded Best Team, Best NHS Practice and Practice of the Year at the Dentistry Scotland Awards. Leanne is the owner and sole trader of the practice which employs


five associate dentists and six dental nurses and a hygienist. Aimi is practice manager. I visited with the sisters recently at the practice which is located in


a converted Victorian villa in the leafy Mayfield district of Edinburgh. Speaking nearly 10 years since opening they still seem genuinely amazed at what they’ve achieved. “It was a steep learning curve,” says Leanne. “Very steep,” echoes Aimi. “We were a bit ambitious because we opened our doors with three dentists and no pre-existing patient list. We did a lot of flyering, a lot of ground work in the six weeks leading up to the practice opening, building up the books and getting patients booked in and ready and waiting.” Managing the refurbishment of the building before opening was


an even wider family enterprise involving their father – a chartered surveyor. “It took six months to get the building in shape,” says Leanne. “It


was much harder in retrospect than it would have been to build from scratch. We had to respect a lot of the original features, but it does create a lovely clinic.” Having no experience running a dental practice, Aimi had to quickly


get to grips with day-to-day issues such as implementing standard HR and health and safety policies, understanding NHS reimbursement and developing an ongoing marketing plan to name but a few. “I had done policies in my previous job but this was all new. The BDA


is a wonderful resource – and the NHS practice support manual.” Leanne adds: “We were also very fortunate to have advice from


some of my previous employers who were actually very supportive, sharing policies and guidelines.”


VISION From the start Leanne and Aimi were determined to run a mixed NHS and private practice very much focused on quality patient care across the board. Says Leanne: “I had the privilege of working in a really busy NHS


practice as a VT and a learning associate. It was fantastic. Then I went into private dentistry – and enjoyed that as well. But I just felt there


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Practice manager Aimi Branton- Bouglas (left) and dentist and owner Dr Leanne Branton


AUTUMN 2017  ISSUE 17


PHOTOGRAPH: SHANNON TOFTS


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