Skip to content
Meet prosthodontist Myles Dakin of Specialist Dental Partners
Myles Dakin is a preeminent prosthodontist, clinical lead and founder of Specialist Dental Partners, a boutique private practice in the beautiful village of Thriplow
What makes your independent dental practice stand out from larger corporate chains?
Indie businesses always have the advantage of being embedded in the communities they serve, often for many years. It means getting to know your clients (in our case patients) really well, and having the ability to respond quickly to local need. There’s no big lead time to making things happen. For example, we realised that our patients would prefer to have all their treatment with us, where possible, so we’ve spent the last six years building a team of specialists who cover all major dental disciplines.
How does being independent allow you to provide a more personalised experience for patients?
Being owner-led means there is no delay and red tape on decision making. We have a small, effective management group that can respond to the needs and feedback of our patients really effectively. We’ve also been able to create an environment that feels comfortable and doesn’t need to conform to a generic idea of what a clinic should look like. Furthermore, our team members are very long-serving (several over 20 years) and have known many of our patients that long. This really matters.
Can you share examples of how your practice has adapted in response to patient feedback?
We moved premises a couple of years ago and this gave us the opportunity to respond to patients’ needs and build surgeries both upstairs and downstairs, which meets mobility requirements. We now have every major dental specialism under one roof, so there is no need to refer externally, making complex treatment more joined up for our patients. We also created space for adjacent health services that we knew would benefit many people, including physiotherapy for jaw disorders, osteopathy and reflexology.
Do tell us more about your collaboration with well:o?
We have formed a partnership with well:o dental wellness at Station Place, Cambridge, where I spend regular time. well:o’s mission, underpinned by a growing body of robust evidence, is to support overall wellbeing through good oral health, making dental hygiene appointments easy to access and stress-free, whilst maintaining the highest clinical standards. Having the relationship with well:o also gives SDP’s Cambridge-based patients a convenient choice for routine appointments with me, and it’s super-easy to get there by train and bus. We have a clear, shared ethos with Felix and Shelley, well:o’s founders, and it feels like a very strong, natural fit.
What are the advantages for patients when it comes to continuity of care at an independent dental practice?
I’ve been seeing patients initially in Royston, then in Melbourn and now in Thriplow, for more than 26 years. Our other clinicians have also been with us for extended periods and so all are familiar faces, but from a care and continuity perspective, our nursing and support staff really are the backbone. Lesley (reception) has been with us over 26 years, and two of my nurses, now in their 40s, came to us straight from school. Even Hattie, our patient services manager and a relative newcomer, joined as a nurse seven years ago. We know our patients, their history, very often their families and what’s important to them. It’s important to us too.
Are there any challenges you face as an indie practice, and how do you overcome them?
Any independent business owner will tell you that it takes over your life – you live and breathe your small business, and you share your lifeblood with it. From a practical perspective, being independent in somewhere like Cambridge and the Cambridge area can feel high stakes – costs are significant – but we love what we do and the people we serve.
What role does community involvement play in your practice’s ethos and daily operations?
We are lucky enough to be based in Thriplow where the community is strong. We sponsor the music stage at the annual Daffodil Festival and have been glad to support other local causes on a regular basis. We love being part of the village.
Find out more at specialistdentalpartners.co.uk and wellohello.co.uk
