Dental Leaders Podcast

Hosted by Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi

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397

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Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests. The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow. Find out more at https://www.dentalleaders.co.uk/

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June 10, 20261 hr 25 min

#346 First Principles — Henry Totterdell

What happens when a mechanical engineer spends a decade fixing factories, then walks away from it all to start dental school at 34? Henry Totterdell joins Payman to tell that story. He talks about the years spent solving problems on aircraft carriers and chemotherapy production lines, the slow-burning itch to do something with his hands, and why he finally took the plunge. Along the way they get into first principles, the magic of human connection over Zoom, where robots might fit into the chair one day, and the quiet privilege of a patient simply saying thank you. It's a conversation about taking the long way round — and arriving exactly where you meant to.In This Episode00:01:55 - Travel and adventure 00:05:20 - Childhood in Stroud 00:06:15 - Choosing engineering 00:07:35 - Loughborough years 00:08:45 - Engineering versus dentistry 00:10:00 - First principles thinking 00:12:10 - Life as a consultant 00:17:15 - Losing his purpose 00:18:35 - The pharmaceutical world 00:21:00 - The itch to do medicine 00:22:15 - Working with his hands 00:23:50 - The leap to dental school 00:31:50 - The Innovations Hub 00:36:05 - First extraction 00:38:40 - Blackbox thinking 00:43:45 - Starting a business 00:44:55 - Lectures that stuck 00:48:10 - What makes a course brilliant 00:50:25 - The magic of being in the room 00:52:15 - Soft skills and integrity 00:54:20 - Reading the patient 00:57:45 - Regrets 01:01:45 - Robots in the chair 01:06:00 - Relentless optimism 01:06:45 - Darkest days 01:10:20 - Nervous patients 01:13:40 - Awards and recognition 01:16:20 - Confidence and family 01:18:35 - Fantasy dinner party 01:20:45 - Last days and legacyAbout Henry TotterdellHenry Totterdell is a third-year dental student at Bristol, having come to dentistry after a decade as a mechanical engineer and consultant. A Loughborough graduate, he worked across defence, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing before retraining at 34. Alongside his studies he runs a Dental Innovations Hub at Bristol, introducing students to the technology and business side of dentistry that the course doesn't cover.

June 3, 20262 hr 2 min

#345 Do the Thing — Ali Al-Hassan

Ali Al-Hassan is the walking embodiment of work hard, play hard — a young dentist who's gone from associate to super associate, practice co-owner and globe-trotter, all while building a following that brings patients straight to his chair. In this episode, he and Payman get into what really separates an ordinary associate from a "super" one: bringing in your own patients, owning your fees, and treating social media as your digital shop front. There's honest talk about outworking self-doubt, the awards debate, a vexatious GDC referral that came out of nowhere, and a wild Covid-era trading story that took a £50k bounce-back loan to seven figures and most of the way back down again. Threaded throughout is a simple philosophy — do the thing, do it thousands of times, and let it compound. You'll come away with plenty to think about, whether you're weighing up your own brand or just wondering how one person fits in this much living.In This Episode00:02:30 - Work hard, play hard 00:08:10 - Growing up and family 00:14:30 - The inflection point 00:17:30 - Associate vs super associate 00:24:40 - Social media and the first Invisalign open day 00:33:15 - Tenacity and outworking self-doubt 00:39:05 - Niching down 00:49:50 - Cornerstones of safe GDP ortho 00:53:50 - Blackbox thinking 00:59:30 - The GDC referral 01:08:45 - Compounding and word of mouth 01:09:45 - Dental Opulence 01:18:55 - The awards debate 01:25:35 - Travel and friendships 01:29:25 - Working with Robbie 01:32:05 - The Covid trading story 01:42:25 - Examinations and case acceptance 01:48:05 - Composite bonding approach 01:54:50 - Finishing teeth upside down 01:56:25 - Fantasy dinner party 02:00:25 - Last days and legacyAbout Ali Al-HassanAli Al-Hassan, known online as Doctor Ali, is a Cardiff-trained dentist working across practices in Swindon, the Midlands and London, with a focus on Invisalign and composite. He's a super associate who built his patient base through years of consistent social media, and co-owns the Dental Opulence clinic in the Midlands. Away from the chair, he travels monthly, invests, and is renovating a house back home in Swindon.

May 27, 20261 hr 57 min

#344 The Package Deal — Ashley King & Sophie Lovett

Ashley King and Sophie Lovett run the international side of Pearl, the AI company that reads dental radiographs — and they turn up as a self-confessed package deal. The chat starts with what the tech actually does (a second opinion for clinicians, and a way to help patients finally see what's going on in their own mouths), but it doesn't stay there for long. Payman, Ashley and Sophie get into US versus UK dentistry, the state of the NHS, why trust beats price every time, and how AI is creeping into everyday work. Then it gets personal: women and AI, the awkwardness of asking for a pay rise, what happens when a woman out-earns her partner, and whether having children is selfless or selfish. Honest, funny and occasionally controversial — this one wanders well beyond the X-ray.In This Episode00:00:50 - Life at a start-up 00:02:20 - Life on the road 00:04:35 - Distributors or your own office 00:06:05 - What Pearl does 00:09:30 - Accuracy and limits 00:10:45 - A controversial take 00:12:45 - AI and the future 00:18:35 - A cottage industry 00:21:20 - US vs UK dentistry 00:24:40 - NHS vs private 00:30:20 - Getting set up 00:34:00 - The price 00:35:40 - Why trust is everything 00:37:45 - The word "sell" 00:40:35 - Living in London 00:46:50 - The worst of America 00:51:50 - Politics 00:56:05 - AI in their own work 01:00:50 - Women and AI 01:02:30 - The pay rise problem 01:05:20 - The gender pay gap 01:08:25 - Femininity as power 01:11:00 - Relationships and self-reliance 01:13:55 - Children01:16:30 - Out-earning a partner 01:25:10 - "I'm just a hygienist" 01:26:30 - Business influences 01:33:50 - Biggest business mistakes 01:38:40 - Competitors and USP 01:45:40 - Guilty pleasures 01:49:05 - Fantasy dinner party 01:54:00 - Ministry of SoundAbout Ashley King & Sophie LovettAshley King leads international partnerships at Pearl, having started out in dental back in 2018 at VOCO; she's from North Carolina and now calls London home. Sophie Lovett heads up Pearl's international market development and, despite only three years in dentistry, talks the clinical language like a native. The two are best friends as much as colleagues — which is exactly why they turned up to record together.

May 20, 20262 hr 10 min

#343 Serendipity — Tara Renton

Professor Tara Renton OBE brings four generations of dental history — and a career built on curiosity rather than ambition — to her conversation with Payman. From navigating undiagnosed dyslexia and a father who begged her not to follow him into dentistry, to becoming the first female chair of oral surgery at King's College London, her story is one of serendipity, resilience, and an almost obsessive interest in the patient behind the pain. She shares remarkable insights into orofacial pain — nerve injuries, psychosocial histories, patients whose chronic pain only begins to shift when someone finally takes the time to ask the right question — and makes a compelling case for multidisciplinary thinking in a profession she feels has been far too siloed for far too long. Sharp reflections on surgical safety, local anaesthetic technique, and the state of dental education sit alongside something warmer: a life philosophy that's disarmingly simple. Stay curious.In This Episode00:02:50 - Four generations of dentists00:06:05 - Child dental health crisis00:07:20 - New grandmother00:10:00 - Choosing dentistry00:17:05 - Serendipity over ambition00:37:15 - The juggle: three kids and a PhD00:41:00 - Bullying and misogyny in surgery00:44:45 - King's: first chair in oral surgery00:47:35 - Multidisciplinary pain clinic00:49:25 - The Iranian patient00:56:00 - Trust underpins consent01:00:00 - Classifying orofacial pain01:07:05 - When grief resolves chronic pain01:12:15 - Blackbox thinking01:17:00 - Local anaesthetic tips01:22:00 - Wrong site surgery01:25:30 - Dental student selection01:27:15 - Redesigning the dental course01:47:50 - Bruxism: rethinking the evidence01:50:15 - Fantasy dinner party01:53:45 - Last days and legacyAbout Professor Tara Renton OBEProfessor Tara Renton OBE is Emeritus Professor of Oral Surgery at King's College London Dental Institute, where she became the first female chair of oral surgery — and one of the world's leading authorities on orofacial pain and nerve injury. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, she has authored over 250 research papers, completed a PhD centred on morbidity following third molar surgery, established a pioneering multidisciplinary pain clinic at King's, and carried out extensive medico-legal work in surgical safety. She is the co-founder of the patient resource orofacialpain.org.uk.

May 13, 20261 hr 53 min

#342 Looking for the Edge — Mike Gray

Mike Gray's path to dentistry was anything but straightforward — and that's precisely what makes this conversation so compelling. A former semi-professional mountain biker who raced the World Series across three disciplines, a musician who once had the head of Universal Publishing sitting in his living room in rural Wales, and a dentist who spent years doing everything he could to avoid dentistry, Mike has lived several lives before arriving at the one he clearly loves. Payman and Mike cover the full sweep — grief, therapy, surgical war stories, and an obsessive, self-taught approach to digital restorative dentistry that culminates in his POISE Protocol: a no-prep veneer workflow that he believes makes truly minimally invasive ceramics available to the vast majority of patients, not just a lucky five per cent.In This Episode00:00:55 – Introductions and first impressions00:01:20 – Mountain biking career00:09:15 – A friend's suicide, guilt and stepping back from maxfax00:12:15 – Therapy00:14:10 – Life on the World Series circuit00:19:25 – From maxfax to music00:28:10 – Blackbox thinking00:33:45 – Music career — Alabama Three, Peppa Pig and Covid00:49:25 – NHS dentistry debate00:51:50 – Falling in love with dentistry00:54:40 – Self-taught restorative and the digital workflow01:00:25 – Ditching the articulator01:01:20 – Prototypes, not temporaries01:05:10 – Into implants01:11:00 – Compassion fatigue01:13:40 – POISE protocol and no-prep ceramics01:25:10 – The Lodge and the course01:29:05 – Resilience and failure01:34:20 – Practice ownership01:41:10 – Instagram01:49:20 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Mike GrayMike Gray is a dentist based in Wales, working at Parkway Clinic in Swansea and The Lodge — a referral and education centre where he hosts his sold-out POISE Protocol course on minimally invasive ceramic veneers. His background spans maxillofacial surgery, semi-professional mountain biking at World Series level, and a music career that attracted interest from Universal Publishing and, improbably, Peppa Pig. He teaches himself CAD, machines his own surgical instruments, and has spent five years developing a digital workflow for no-prep ceramic restorations that he believes renders feldspathic and heavy preparation largely redundant.

May 6, 20261 hr 54 min

#341 Underestimated — Rawa Jawad Quinn

Rawa Jawad Quinn is a dentist-turned-tech founder whose restless energy and refusal to be underestimated have shaped every chapter of her career. In this episode, she tells Payman about growing up in Chelsea after her Iraqi family fled Kuwait with nothing, studying in Liverpool, and working across 16 dental practices before channelling her frustrations into Medicube — a consent and patient communication platform built to give associates the consistency they've never had. The conversation takes some wonderfully unexpected detours into quantum physics, telepathy, AI-driven futures and the spiritual experiences that Rawa can't quite explain but absolutely trusts. There's also plenty of practical wisdom on occlusion, practice culture and what it really takes to bootstrap a dental tech start-up while raising a three-year-old without a nanny.In This Episode00:00:45 – Introduction and welcome00:01:25 – Growing up on the Kings Road and childhood in Chelsea00:03:30 – Studying dentistry in Liverpool and reinvention00:07:00 – Dyslexia diagnosis and learning differently00:10:10 – The itch beyond dentistry00:14:00 – Fleeing Kuwait, starting over in the UK00:16:25 – Why her parents' medical careers put her off medicine00:18:05 – Ambition, being underestimated and self-belief00:23:15 – Spirituality, connectedness and trusting intuition00:26:10 – Wanting it all — motherhood, marriage and a start-up00:31:00 – Lessons from 16 dental practices00:36:25 – Working in corporates and at Bupa00:41:20 – NHS vs private practice00:45:15 – The birth of Medicube00:48:30 – How Medicube works and pilot results00:55:55 – Finding a co-founder and the UCL connection00:58:50 – Funding through grants, awards and bootstrapping01:03:25 – AI, the Turing test and the future of work01:10:25 – Robots, relationships and what makes us human01:22:55 – Physics, multiverse theory and keeping an open mind01:28:40 – Blackbox thinking01:33:40 – A patient with buyer's remorse after crown preps01:36:55 – Occlusion, full mouth rehabs and the Dawson Academy01:43:20 – Tech conferences and the reality of being a founder01:47:05 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Rawa Jawad QuinnRawa Jawad Quinn is a dentist based in Belfast, currently working at Bupa, with a particular interest in full mouth rehabilitation cases. She is also the co-founder of Medicube, a dental tech platform that streamlines consent, treatment planning and patient communication. Rawa trained at the Dawson Academy and Chris Hall's programme, and has worked across 16 practices spanning NHS, private and corporate settings.

April 29, 20261 hr 36 min

#340 Exit at the Peak — Andy Acton

Andy Acton returns to the Dental Leaders hot seat for a proper deep-cut conversation about the business of owning a dental practice — from first purchase right through to the exit. Payman and Andy cover the current market (spoiler: banks still love dentists, and buyers far outnumber sellers), before getting into the real meat of the episode: owner fatigue. Andy breaks down the five categories of burnout he's observed across 25 years of working with practice owners, and it's the kind of honest, unglamorous stuff that rarely gets aired. There's also a brilliant success story about a single-surgery practice that became a near-£2 million sale in four years, plus some sharp advice on what not to do in your first month of ownership. Whether you're thinking about buying, selling, or just trying to work out why you're so tired, this one's well worth your time.In This Episode00:00:50 – Andy's business portfolio and the FTA family of companies 00:03:10 – Market snapshot: supply, demand and the state of play in December 2025 00:04:15 – Squats vs acquisitions 00:07:35 – What buyers are really looking for 00:10:15 – Occupancy levels and the case for maximising before expanding 00:13:10 – Corporates vs independents: deal structures and flexibility 00:17:10 – Patient attrition when the owner leaves 00:20:25 – Horror stories and success stories: flipping practices 00:28:15 – Young dentists buying early and the bank of mum and dad 00:31:05 – Would Andy encourage his kids to become dentists? 00:33:20 – Owner fatigue: five categories of burnout 00:35:25 – How valuation methods have evolved over 25 years 00:42:45 – Raising finance and banking terms 00:45:45 – The ownership lifecycle and signs of fatigue 00:55:55 – Sales readiness: the checklist 01:05:30 – Business education and the case for teaching it at school 01:13:05 – Understanding financial accounts and key KPIs 01:18:25 – Quick-fire: favourite business book, business hero, and the green lights philosophy 01:25:15 – Dental leaders who inspire Andy 01:32:25 – Fly on the wall moment: the Man United treble changing roomAbout Andy ActonAndy Acton is co-founder of Frank Taylor Associates, one of the UK's leading dental practice sales and valuation firms. Alongside his business partner Chris, Andy has built a portfolio of dental-focussed businesses, including FTA Finance, FTA Media, FTA Wealth, and the Principals Club — a members-only community for independent practice owners. He has worked in the dental sector for over 25 years.

April 24, 20261 hr 7 min

Mind Movers #49 — Vanita Rattan

In this lively and layered episode of Mind Movers, Vanita Rattan joins Rhona and Payman to talk about medicine, entrepreneurship, motherhood and the sheer force of personality it takes to build something different. She traces her path from UCL medical school to formulating skincare for skin of colour, then opening clinics around the world before Covid forced a brutal pivot into social media and direct-to-consumer growth. What follows is not just a business story. It is a conversation about dyslexia, immigrant pressure, obsession, sacrifice, miscarriage, ambition and the cost of always operating in warrior mode. Honest, sharp and occasionally uncomfortable, this one goes well beyond skincare.In This Episode00:01:15 - Medicine to formulation00:02:05 - Building global clinics00:05:05 - Covid and the pivot00:06:20 - Community over following00:10:25 - Crisis mode and grit00:15:00 - Opportunity cost thinking00:20:15 - Dyslexia and determination00:27:25 - Business, children and sacrifice00:31:00 - Money, ambition and power00:56:25 - Miscarriage and autopilotAbout Vanita RattanVanita Rattan is a medical doctor, cosmetic formulator and entrepreneur focused on skincare for skin of colour. After qualifying in medicine at UCL, she trained in formulation, built the Hyperpigmentation Clinic into an international business, and later grew a highly engaged skincare brand through education-led content and direct community input. She is known for combining science, straight talking and a clear mission to serve women who have long been overlooked by mainstream beauty.

April 22, 20261 hr 32 min

#339 Crack On — Ali Hashemizadeh

At just 27, Ali Hashemizadeh is doing things most dentists twice his age haven't managed — two private associate roles, a growing reputation as an endodontist, and the kind of self-awareness that usually takes a decade to develop. In this episode, Payman sits down with the Newcastle-based, Aberdeen-raised, Iranian dentist to trace the path from a rocky first year on the NHS to finding his feet in private practice. Ali talks candidly about the complaint that rocked him early in his career, the perspective shift it forced, and why he's genuinely glad it happened. It's a conversation about curiosity, resilience, and the quiet power of just cracking on.In This Episode00:00:50 – Introduction: Ali Hashemizadeh00:03:45 – Lifelong learning00:07:25 – The future of dental events00:14:30 – Optimism as a work philosophy00:15:35 – NHS complaint, first job00:19:40 – Resilience and perspective00:21:10 – Going private early00:22:25 – Becoming the endo guy00:25:55 – Generalist or specialist?00:26:50 – The disease of the twenties00:28:30 – Iranian roots in Aberdeen00:38:15 – Foundation year in London00:40:55 – Outdoor pursuits and Ironman training00:46:10 – CBCT and safe-ended files00:50:05 – Endo, implants and aesthetics under one roof00:52:00 – Treatment coordinators and ethical selling00:57:15 – The value of mentorship00:59:00 – Networking and landing the jobs01:02:55 – The two practices compared01:07:35 – Lucas Lassman and the most inspiring lecture01:10:40 – Dental resources: YouTube and Instagram01:15:10 – Being Mortal and Man's Search for Meaning01:16:30 – Modern Wisdom and guilty pleasures01:22:35 – Ten-year plan01:27:40 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Ali HashemizadehAli Hashemizadeh is a 27-year-old private associate dentist working across two practices in the northeast of England — Middleton Saint George Dental in Darlington and Ken Harris's clinic in Sunderland — where he has developed a particular focus on endodontics. Born and raised in Aberdeen to Iranian parents, he qualified from Newcastle University and completed his foundation year in London before heading back north.

April 15, 20261 hr 37 min

#338 Show, Don’t Tell — Grant Goodstein

Grant Goodstein isn't a dentist — and that might be exactly why this episode is so refreshing. An American tech exec turned practice owner, Grant moved to London for love (a Hannah Montana-inspired trip to LA, a dating app, and a last-minute Vegas concert, if you can believe it) and ended up buying a mixed NHS practice in Fulham with his wife, Leah. What follows is a masterclass in what happens when someone with zero clinical background but serious business chops walks into a neighbourhood dental practice and starts asking, "What do patients actually want?" From GBT machines and AI phone systems to living wage accreditation and obsessing over Wi-Fi signal strength in the toilet, Grant's approach is equal parts Silicon Valley hustle and genuine community spirit.In This Episode00:01:00 – Meeting Leah: dating apps, Hannah Montana and a spontaneous trip to Vegas00:06:15 – London vs Los Angeles00:08:25 – Growing up sports-obsessed and working for Michigan basketball00:13:10 – Coaching rituals and building team enthusiasm00:15:25 – Buying the practice: staff turnover, evolution vs revolution00:19:35 – Practice valuations then and now00:22:05 – Listening to patients and expanding hygiene00:26:10 – Running a mixed practice: the case for keeping NHS00:32:20 – Growing Invisalign from 20 to 100 cases a year00:34:10 – Genuine interest, patient conversations and the "daughter test"00:36:10 – The search for the right practice00:41:20 – Nervous patients and the patient experience00:43:35 – Investing in GBT and premium hygiene00:49:40 – Learning when and how to say no00:55:25 – Tech stack: CareStack, VoIP, AI transcription and remote hiring01:02:45 – Reception as a revenue driver01:06:25 – Training, role plays and AI for SOPs01:09:20 – High-performing teams: sports analogies in practice01:11:30 – Blackbox thinking01:15:20 – Refurb lessons and driving urgency01:18:50 – Finding purpose after tech burnout01:21:15 – Favourite business books01:24:50 – Fantasy dinner party01:31:15 – Leah's fearless flyer course and treating nervous patientsAbout Grant Goodstein Grant Goodstein is the managing director of Pearly Whites dental practice in Fulham, London, which he co-owns with his wife, dentist Leah Goodstein. A University of Michigan economics graduate, Grant previously worked in tech — including a stint at Twitter — before moving to the UK and channelling his business background into practice ownership.