Transcript from Dentology Podcast with guest Mehy Lo Presti
Episode release date: Monday 27 March 2023
andy___chris:
Here we are. Yes again. Another episode. Absolutely, looking forward to it. And today, today we are delighted. We have a dentist specialising in restorative dentistry, the co-founder of the Global Dental Collective and Sustainable Clinics. And just to kick off, he’s fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and Arabic. So very welcome to Mehy Lo Presti. Very good, very good. Welcome Mehy, how are you doing?
mehy:
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
andy___chris:
That’s very good. Look at that, I embrace my best Italian. What are you doing? Are you doing well?
mehy:
I’m really good, I’m really good. Thank you. How are you guys?
andy___chris:
Yeah, very good. I’m just impressed that you’re fluent in so many languages. I’m barely fluent in English. That was amazing.
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
Amazing. We’ll get to that, but it is very impressive. To kick off, Mehih, what is it we need to know about your early years so that we understand the person you are today? How did it all start for you? And why you can talk four languages.
mehy:
I was born and raised in Spain.
andy___chris:
Right.
mehy:
But my dad is Palestinian, my mom is Italian. They immigrated to Spain like 30, 35 years ago, and this is where they decided to have their family, and this is where we grew up.
andy___chris:
Okay,
mehy:
Yep.
andy___chris:
can I just pull you back? How did an Italian and a Palestinian meet?
mehy:
That’s a good question actually. Nowadays would be easier but the thing is that, well my mom grew up in Alexandria in Egypt
andy___chris:
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
mehy:
and my dad was doing medical school there.
andy___chris:
All right.
mehy:
So they kind of have, they have kind of a Romeo and Juliet story.
andy___chris:
Lovely.
mehy:
Both families were not really impressed by their choices.
andy___chris:
Oh really? Oh, I can’t even…
mehy:
back in the days was completely, it still happens. So they had to basically fight for their love
andy___chris:
What?
mehy:
and they decided that Spain was a beautiful country to start their story and this is where we ended up.
andy___chris:
Oh, what a lovely love story. That’s brilliant,
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
isn’t it? It’s interesting, isn’t it, that you’ve got an Italian and a Palestinian, you have to go to Spain. Yeah.
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
It’s just like, it’s almost been neutral ground. Out of interest, where does your heart live? Where do you feel is home for you? Oh, yeah, good one.
mehy:
It’s a good question. Actually, I feel from everywhere, to be honest.
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
I never felt really Spanish and never felt from London and traveling around the world. My wife is Italian, so it’s kind of winning the Italian side.
andy___chris:
Right.
mehy:
But actually, I have a friend who solved this really well, and he asked me this question. when the World Cup arrives.
andy___chris:
I was going to ask you which teams you support.
mehy:
What
andy___chris:
That’s the
mehy:
team
andy___chris:
way.
mehy:
do you support?
andy___chris:
Football.
mehy:
That’s the real question, like, gosh, okay. I have to say that Spain, probably that’s, yeah, that’s my team, yeah.
andy___chris:
Ah, okay,
mehy:
So
andy___chris:
interesting.
mehy:
I would go for Spain, and if that’s the answer.
andy___chris:
Right. Yeah. And that’s the thing, isn’t it? You know, football. People don’t change their football teams. And so
mehy:
Exactly,
andy___chris:
if that’s,
mehy:
the content
andy___chris:
if that’s
mehy:
they’re fumbling
andy___chris:
a team you
mehy:
to.
andy___chris:
support, then I guess that’s where your heart is. It’s quite handy, though, isn’t it really? Because most of those teams, apart from this time, would have got into the World Cup. So you’ve got a sort of choice, haven’t you, really? You know, depending on who’s doing well, you can start off Spanish, then maybe become
mehy:
Well,
andy___chris:
Italian,
mehy:
that’s me.
andy___chris:
and potentially
mehy:
Last year,
andy___chris:
Italian English, depending on that word.
mehy:
Palestine team doesn’t even exist, I tell you it was not doing really well, so I didn’t have much fun.
andy___chris:
Yeah, they
mehy:
Which
andy___chris:
didn’t
mehy:
was
andy___chris:
make
mehy:
good.
andy___chris:
it well, a couple of years ago. No. So we kind of got… We digress. I was going to say, we got segred by your parents’ wonderful love story. Yeah, sorry about
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
that.
mehy:
you.
andy___chris:
So now back to you. What was your upbringing like then?
mehy:
So, how was my childhood? I mean, yeah,
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
well, I had a really
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
happy childhood. I mean, I was, you know, the weirdo. I grew up in a really Spanish place in Midlands, where I was the only person not called Fernando or Jose or Julián. So I was quite of a needed to really this and always need to be the best on anything that I did to you know
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
feel confident but
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
that made me actually really want to do things in the best way possible. But I had a great childhood and I was always a confused teenager. I didn’t know what I wanted to be in life. Still don’t know. But
andy___chris:
Ha ha ha
mehy:
I think that’s probably one of my weakness. I don’t know exactly what I want to do.
andy___chris:
Mehia, I think the thing is this, when you hear people trot out these lines like, you know, follow your passion, most people don’t necessarily know what that is. And it’s not particularly helpful because when people say this, it assumes everybody knows what their passion is and it’s easy to follow something. Most people are like you, they’re like us, they don’t really know what it is, they just find something they do that they really enjoy. But they’re not sure if it’s the thing, they just make the most of the situation they’re in at that time.
mehy:
Bye.
andy___chris:
There’s a great song by Baz Lerman, sunscreen and basically it’s an old song that he talks his way through but he talks about things like as you get older look after your knees and things like that but one of the lines that he has in it is don’t worry about what you’re thinking about because some of the most interesting people I’ve met are in their forties and they’ve still no idea and I think it’s a real true thing in the fact of we sort of try and pigeonhole ourselves and actually sometimes it’s just like go for the ride see what happens. Yeah
mehy:
I agree,
andy___chris:
exactly.
mehy:
I agree. I mean, I’m comfortable with that, to be honest. I think this is the beauty. I always thought I would like to have three or more professions in the rest of my life. I mean, I’m really… I wouldn’t like to retire as a dentist. I wouldn’t like to retire ever, but I think I’m going to be doing three or four more things for the rest of my life.
andy___chris:
Hmm. So how did the confused teenager decide that the identity was the first chapter of your book?
mehy:
I was really confused and my dad was worried about that in terms of like I didn’t have anything clear and he basically kind of helped me on the decision and he said look he’s a doctor right and he’s
andy___chris:
Dwi’n meddwl, mae’n meddwl i’r drwy’r meddwl yn Lazzardia.
mehy:
a doctor so he’s a fashion. It’s his hobby, it’s his love, he loves it and he said look I don’t see you being a doctor you’re quite skilled, then this tree is a safe bet, you know, and then you can always try and if you don’t like it, you choose to do something else. So yeah, I think he was my inspiration, let’s say, for this profession.
andy___chris:
And whilst the process, we’ve been talking to various guests over time about the UK Scording System such that you need to take your decision in terms of your subjects when you’re 13, 14, and then that puts you on the path to choose your higher education, your A-levels in the UK when you’re kind of 17, 18, which then gives you a pathway through to dental school. And I always take the view that I think putting that pressure on people is a big ask. What was the situation like in Spain in terms of what was your pathway through to going to dental school? Was it similar? Did you need to make those decisions quite early on in life?
mehy:
Yeah, it’s similar, it’s the same. When you start
andy___chris:
But.
mehy:
deciding if you want to go through science, through math, well through numbers,
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
through letters, we say it, then it depends on what you want to do. You really need to start deciding the path, which I don’t think is fair to do with a kid and I think we need way more time. I’m sure that is not the right decision to take when you’re so young, especially because you don’t take that decision. Your environment takes it
andy___chris:
No.
mehy:
and your friends take that decision or whatever, whichever TV show
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
you it was fashionable
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
that moment.
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
So it’s pretty tough and I wouldn’t probably knowing what I know today, I wouldn’t pick the same path.
andy___chris:
Really?
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
Why did you say that?
mehy:
No,
andy___chris:
Why did you
mehy:
I think
andy___chris:
say that?
mehy:
I would, I was, I’m thinking always, I think I would do something more related with design. That’s, that’s,
andy___chris:
Right.
mehy:
yeah, this is what I mean,
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
the world my hobbies are on that path, you know, on the fields.
andy___chris:
I mean, I know you love your art and design and actually, I guess there’s probably never in a better time to be in dentistry with that flair because I think the ascetic side of dentistry is kind of really pushing forward beyond where it was perhaps five, seven, ten years
mehy:
Yeah, I
andy___chris:
ago.
mehy:
know.
andy___chris:
But perhaps it doesn’t necessarily go far enough for you in terms of your creative side
mehy:
Luckily,
andy___chris:
of things.
mehy:
luckily, you know, because you don’t know that, you know, people tell you,
andy___chris:
No.
mehy:
you know, you did dentistry, but you don’t know that there is an artistic side. You know, like, I don’t
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
believe people saying, oh, I did dentistry because I’m an artist.
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
No.
mehy:
think, I would say that, I think dentistry is a profession full of artists that they were not brave enough to become an artist.
andy___chris:
Right. So you just do it. Yeah.
mehy:
And then, you know, and this is a safe bet. It’s a great profession where you can do a lot of things and then you can be whatever you want in that profession. It’s great.
andy___chris:
Yeah, yeah
mehy:
When you’re 16, people are getting inspired by their parents. They don’t know how artistic they are, or that they are dented, or
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
you’ve seen your dentist treating you, which, you know, I’m not sure how much art you can see on that. Or, you
andy___chris:
Yeah, actually.
mehy:
know, because if you wanna be common in the dentist,
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
There’s so much art in it, but I understand that.
andy___chris:
I think also for some people there’s just the reality of life that you know dentistry does pay pretty well and as an artist, motars it’s only get wealthy once
mehy:
Yeah, this is probably the…
andy___chris:
they’re dead. That’s the brutal reality.
mehy:
No, no, that’s true. That’s what I’m saying. He’s a safe bet. I
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
don’t know any employee dentist or that is having a
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
tough life. You can earn more or less that… You can have a
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
OK life.
andy___chris:
Yeah. And what was your dental score experience like? Because obviously for most of the people that listen to this, they’re UK based. So they’re very familiar with what the UK system looks like. But what was it like out in Madrid?
mehy:
I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun.
andy___chris:
That doesn’t surprise me. So
mehy:
I had
andy___chris:
parting
mehy:
a lot of fun.
andy___chris:
around the world. Obviously dental college is the same everywhere.
mehy:
Exactly. FUN is everywhere. The system, well the two first years were tough for me because there was nothing related with dentistry. It’s quite general medicine, biology, chemistry, which is our normal strength. And then you start using your hands, you know, your third and fourth and fifth year.
andy___chris:
ம்..
mehy:
And we, well, I basically studied in a town in Madrid, which So it’s like
andy___chris:
right
mehy:
there are 50,000 students living in a small town
andy___chris:
Oh,
mehy:
and
andy___chris:
my
mehy:
everyone
andy___chris:
goodness.
mehy:
leaves, you know, you live with your friends in your villa and
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
you know, so it’s like a really nice place to study and then you know, you make friends forever. So I had really good fun but I hate studying. I’m not a good student
andy___chris:
But.
mehy:
even though I have after I did a master’s here and everything That’s it.
andy___chris:
Sure. Yeah. So it means for an end. So what was it that brought you over to the UK?
mehy:
Well then, I mean, I finished my studies, I traveled around the world, I did six months charity and I was enrolled with the University of Dominican Republic. So then that was, that was amazing. And then I came back, went back to Spain, worked for a year, but I didn’t like much the system, the dental system there. It was a little bit difficult to do an industry that you want to do. So then
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
I wanted to travel around the world. That was my aim.
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
So I consider London probably the capital of Europe and one of the capitals of the world.
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
Back in the days I thought ring of masters was really important. So yeah, that’s my thought point out. My English wasn’t that good. It
andy___chris:
ம்..
mehy:
was terrible. So I really needed to upgrade my game on that.
andy___chris:
Right, so it was during your masters at Kings that actually brought you to the UK and then you decided to stay.
mehy:
Yeah, kind of. I liked that the opportunities to do better than this year were higher.
andy___chris:
Right. Yeah.
mehy:
And I didn’t know the city that well, but I thought it was a good starting point for anything you want to do. I
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
think
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
if you make it in London, you can make it anywhere in the world, almost.
andy___chris:
Yeah. Yeah. And your masters was in restorative dentistry. So was that, I was going to say, so was that the link to the the artistic side of things? Were you trying to get that drawn more into your your dentistry?
mehy:
because I tried everything before. I did Endo, I did a year of Perio,
andy___chris:
right.
mehy:
you know, and I said, again, you know, it needs to be restorative. And then I started a little bit more restorative than this street and I did the masters and then I said, okay, this is what I’d like to do. I want to do and then I was doing it part time when I was working. So I managed to implement a lot of
andy___chris:
But, excellent, excellent. Where were you living? Were you living north, south,
mehy:
East.
andy___chris:
central?
mehy:
I was living
andy___chris:
Ah, OK.
mehy:
with six girls in a flat in my land. I didn’t even know though, you know, just
andy___chris:
Huh.
mehy:
the first thing that arrived,
andy___chris:
Wow, wait.
mehy:
I went to the room and my job was in nothing here. So
andy___chris:
Oh
mehy:
I was
andy___chris:
my
mehy:
going
andy___chris:
goodness.
mehy:
the central line up and down. I had a really cool first job, I have to confess, but yeah, I was, so I know everything about London. I know the east and the north and the south. Thank you.
andy___chris:
And it’s funny for somebody who isn’t from London. London’s big
mehy:
Beautiful.
andy___chris:
and there’s lots of other capital cities you can walk around in a day, whereas London’s massive. So to think that you’re in London in my land but you’re working in Notting Hill, that’s a good hour and a 10 minutes. It’s a big journey every day. As long as the
mehy:
And
andy___chris:
trains
mehy:
it’s like
andy___chris:
work.
mehy:
living in different cities. I mean, I think London has easy
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
six different cities. You know, that’s
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
the beauty of it. And that’s what actually it was actually attracting me.
andy___chris:
Brilliant. And more recently, you’re one of the co-founders of the Dental Collective as well, which is a debate-centered event. What drove you to create this? There’s no shortage of dental events in the
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
UK. We
mehy:
you.
andy___chris:
love a dental event, you know. You can put on a suit, a black tie, or a pair of jeans most days of the week. What drove you to create this event? Because it is a
mehy:
a
andy___chris:
bit
mehy:
bit
andy___chris:
different.
mehy:
different. Actually I have a joke with Kyle Stanley from California and he came to our event last time and he
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
was telling me like I never seen so many black tie events in the history like as you’ll have
andy___chris:
Yeah,
mehy:
because you
andy___chris:
yeah
mehy:
know it was like you know we speak we speak like almost every two weeks for different reasons like how many events you have in black tie I was like I know
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
but I actually
andy___chris:
We love them. And they all happen around the same time. She’s frustrating.
mehy:
So, the Global Dental Co-Octave
andy___chris:
I’m
mehy:
came
andy___chris:
sorry.
mehy:
together because we always had in mind to create events for the dental community, mainly to support the lifestyle of the dental provider, like showing them how to look after themselves, how to deal with litigation, how to make postures, meditation, all these kind of things. really different and then Gio Lovett which I’m sure you guys know. Yeah
andy___chris:
Yeah, we know Joe. Yep, he’s been one of our previous guests. A great guy.
mehy:
amazing person and he came across with actually asked me to speak in one of his events so I told him look why don’t you come to East London I need to show you something and I’m not sure he was really confident about
andy___chris:
Ha ha ha!
mehy:
I introduced him to one of my best friends Bruno and the business partner. We went to his venue and you know I pitched to him what we wanted to do and he stopped for a second and I don’t know if he was gonna like just run away or just say like you are
andy___chris:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
mehy:
you guys are bananas you don’t know where you are so I stopped like for three seconds and he said okay I love it I think we can do this And then, yeah, it just happened. It’s funny to see, like, I would say, I would like to record our meetings because they are a little bit crazy. Like Bruno is coming from the music festival’s world. He has his own label in East London. He does festivals around the world. And then Joe is from
andy___chris:
Well.
mehy:
a completely other side. working in a super conservative field which is dentistry. And then I’m trying
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
to put things together. So something reasonable comes up. But it’s interesting because you know, Bruce comes with crazy ideas, Joe Faines. It’s like a week on to this. And then we kind of try to find
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
the mean term for everything. And then that’s how it came up,
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
something really special and unique.
andy___chris:
Yeah. Hmm. Interesting. And there’s two elements to it. There’s a there’s a boat party, which is kind of the part two, which is pretty obvious what that’s going to look like. But the bit before you’ve gone for this debate angle and increasingly we seem to be living in a world where people are cautious about sharing opinions on things, especially opinions that might not be universally agreeable, because we kind of have this You said something that you don’t agree with, kind of, you just seem to fall out. So it’s quite a bold step to take to put people in an arena where there’s going to be a debate and it requires grownups to have differing opinions and move it forward. So how did you curate what topics were going to be and how did you manage that to make sure that it stayed a kind of comfortable and safe environment? Because potentially it could be a bit of a tinderbox, couldn’t it? Confrontational. Lots of people shouting
mehy:
Yeah,
andy___chris:
at each
mehy:
yeah.
andy___chris:
other, pointing fingers.
mehy:
I have to confess, I didn’t know how it came out for the first time.
andy___chris:
Ha ha ha!
mehy:
It was quite risky and I remember actually telling Bruno, it’s like, Bruno, I need that venue, I need to rehearse. He looked at me like, I mean, we are in London, we don’t rehearse. There is no time of money to rehearse. We do what we had in mind, we put it together the same day and we go for it. The topics is a mix of, obviously, we ask a lot of people what they want to talk about. We read, we watch their social medias and we
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
kind of try to figure out what they can get the best out of, like what is the most valuable
andy___chris:
Yeah,
mehy:
topic in
andy___chris:
what’s
mehy:
that
andy___chris:
the
mehy:
moment.
andy___chris:
hot topics almost? Yeah mmm
mehy:
So we can basically have a debate. Even though I debate, a pure debate, is people with completely different opinions, but this is
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
difficult to find, as you said, because people are still a little bit scared.
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
But I’m really proud to say that people felt, and this is our main goal, that people need to feel safe and happy
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
to share, judged for whatever they need to say. And this is something that in my speech with when I opened the event I want to make really clear that everyone here is safe
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
to share what are their thoughts and to feel that they are not alone. It works. When I’ve been doing
andy___chris:
Hmm
mehy:
now interviews to the previous panelists, Thank you for creating a safe space where I didn’t feel lonely. I realized that I’m not
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
the only one thinking in this way. And people got conclusions, really nice conclusions from every topic, which
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
I was inspecting.
andy___chris:
It’s weird isn’t it? Something that you would hope just be kind of a mainstream society being able to debate and have conversations
mehy:
Thank you.
andy___chris:
and sharing different views. They say don’t they if you’re in a room and all your friends agree with everything you say
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
you need more friends and you do you need to have that difference of opinion because that’s how you learn and that’s how you move
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
things
mehy:
you.
andy___chris:
forward as well. And that your opinion is not the ultimate cast iron opinion, it’s an opinion.
mehy:
great
andy___chris:
Yeah so clearly last year went went very well the extent where you’ve got another one coming this year, in fact, not that long in the future. So what does the one this year look like and what can we expect from it?
mehy:
Well, we learned from all the things that we had to change from the previous ones. So we were making, last time we had three topics, this time we were having two topics, because people wanted to discuss more, and we were short of time.
andy___chris:
Ouais.
mehy:
So we’re going to pick two topics, people will have more time to interact, because the audience can interact. This is one of our
andy___chris:
Hmm, pretty.
mehy:
main characteristics. And the two topics this year are litigation, our fitness to practice, quite linked.
andy___chris:
Interesting.
mehy:
And the other one is a Caribbean dentistry, is expectations versus reality.
andy___chris:
Uh. и на канале.
mehy:
We’re
andy___chris:
До новых встреч!
mehy:
trying to bring two young professionals from one side, two super successful dentists from the other side.
andy___chris:
Wonderful.
mehy:
a warrior
andy___chris:
Hmm. What’s a reality?
mehy:
when trying to find a job and when trying to hire because
andy___chris:
Hmm
mehy:
I think there is a huge gap in between both worlds and I think this conversation
andy___chris:
Yes.
mehy:
needs to happen.
andy___chris:
Because you’ve got Raj speaking, I think. You’ve got Raj
mehy:
Yeah,
andy___chris:
as one
mehy:
Rajatani
andy___chris:
of your guests.
mehy:
is going to
andy___chris:
I think
mehy:
speak
andy___chris:
that’ll be great.
mehy:
in the fitness to practice
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
topic. We’re trying to bring someone from the GDC. So we are in constant conversations
andy___chris:
How’s that going?
mehy:
with them, but we have a representative. And then two young dentists, they had already some experience with GDC litigation.
andy___chris:
Tell you what, I’d be interested to have the GDC person turn
mehy:
They
andy___chris:
up. Yeah.
mehy:
are really keen.
andy___chris:
I mean, what’s really good is it would also debunk some of the myths around it. One of our previous guests that we spoke to, his episode, is still to be broadcast. He went through a fitness to practice hearing and it was a spurious claim and he was cleared. But the stress of going through it for him was enormous and it was the time delay was kind of sort of Damocles hanging over you for months and months and months before you find out what’s going to be happening and during that time you kind of got to keep the show on the road and you know keep pushing forward. So it’ll be interesting to get people’s take on, you’ve got the aspect of the individual complaint but then the wider implications and impact on you as an individual and the stresses that causes with you and your business and your family. So I think that
mehy:
Exactly,
andy___chris:
would be
mehy:
I agree.
andy___chris:
a great
mehy:
And
andy___chris:
conversation
mehy:
also people don’t
andy___chris:
to
mehy:
know
andy___chris:
be had.
mehy:
much what GDC does. I didn’t know much of it. I
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
had a completely different idea. When I actually had a one-to-one call with them, I learned a lot. It’s like, you know what? People need to know these things, all these numbers that you’re giving me.
andy___chris:
ம்.. ம்..
mehy:
And it’s true that we can do things in a different way. So you mine, you know, would be good for you to also listen. What is actually the struggle of the people. And then it might not be that it’s difficult to fix, you know. You said sometimes
andy___chris:
No,
mehy:
is
andy___chris:
no, no, no, I think
mehy:
that
andy___chris:
from
mehy:
time,
andy___chris:
a
mehy:
that
andy___chris:
foot
mehy:
waiting time, but maybe you need to hire more people.
andy___chris:
Yeah,
mehy:
That’s it.
andy___chris:
yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I think from a PR point of view
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
it could
mehy:
think
andy___chris:
be
mehy:
so.
andy___chris:
really good
mehy:
I think
andy___chris:
for the
mehy:
it
andy___chris:
GDC
mehy:
was
andy___chris:
because
mehy:
a great
andy___chris:
actually
mehy:
opportunity.
andy___chris:
I think I think if the dentist Understand more about the role they’re playing and like say imagine if if out of this debate there came An improvement in the system which meant that everything got fast tracked and it end to end it could be dealt with in a few weeks As opposed to you know months or even a year. Well, there’s been fight because that’ll be quite interesting
mehy:
We
andy___chris:
Ha
mehy:
don’t want
andy___chris:
ha
mehy:
to
andy___chris:
ha!
mehy:
make it a fight. We are collective. We want people to interact, collaborate.
andy___chris:
I think it’ll be really interesting.
mehy:
But
andy___chris:
Yeah, it’ll be really
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
interesting.
mehy:
think we’re positive. I think
andy___chris:
So,
mehy:
we can get great ideas for both sides.
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
We don’t want to bring the GDC and start telling them how bad or how good they are. It’s just like to listen
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
to each other and
andy___chris:
No.
mehy:
listen. Also, they’re concerned.
andy___chris:
Yeah, yeah. It’s a bit like you the same name.
mehy:
You guys need to fix this. Great.
andy___chris:
Yeah. As you say, may know, probably no one or very few people have actually
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
ever met anyone from the GDC. There’s
mehy:
That’s
andy___chris:
almost
mehy:
it.
andy___chris:
like this faceless monster. But but but also going back to your point about, you know, it being a collective and it being a debate, they deserve that right and that privilege as well to set out their position, not be not
mehy:
100%
andy___chris:
be stoned by the people in the arena. They also have to space and that safety of saying this is our situation, this is what we do and this is how we do it and people respect that. They might not like it, there’s lots of things I hear I don’t like but I’d still prefer that person to have the freedom to say what they want and not like it as opposed
mehy:
Exactly,
andy___chris:
to
mehy:
exactly.
andy___chris:
just never
mehy:
This
andy___chris:
hear
mehy:
is why
andy___chris:
it.
mehy:
we want to give them the opportunity to actually explain it. And actually, when I have to say, like when I heard it from them, I liked it. I liked what he said. And I saw things in a different way,
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
you know? It’s just like, I feel like there is
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
a special, look, something different that I see from Spain, actually. Going back to the topic, is the way we practice dentistry.
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
It is an incredibly defensive dentistry in the UK. And we’re not good dentists, the dentists
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
say that, you know, people they don’t want to get in trouble. So they are really conservative and
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
that is not fair for the professional, for the patient. There is obviously there is a problem.
andy___chris:
Hmm
mehy:
In the same, you are not afraid of anything. Because maybe it goes,
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
you know, it’s both sides, you know, it’s maybe too much, but it should be a middle
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
term that you’re confident to actually perform the treatment that you think is best.
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
well what if I didn’t write my notes in the right way or you know it’s not fair
andy___chris:
And I think from the conversation we have that that seems to be getting worse whether that’s a reality that I don’t know but but my impression is it seems to be getting worse and it it also seems to be something that’s almost being trained into people at dental school in that they’re coming out you know obsessed about note taking and recording and don’t get me wrong it’s really important to have the
mehy:
Thank you.
andy___chris:
records
mehy:
Thank you.
andy___chris:
of what’s been done but that that shouldn’t that that shouldn’t kind of drive distraction but yeah loads of notes of what
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
the experience
mehy:
mean
andy___chris:
is
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
like
mehy:
work
andy___chris:
for the
mehy:
with
andy___chris:
patient.
mehy:
consultants that they are still like not sure about doing certain treatments because they don’t want to get in trouble You know that is not you know the way
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
you should feel and I don’t blame the dentist to be honest Because it’s like since they are in
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
dental school. They they grow with this This You know fear
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
that they’re gonna get
andy___chris:
It’s
mehy:
sued
andy___chris:
preconceptions.
mehy:
and you know, it’s not
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
it’s not healthy. It’s not healthy
andy___chris:
No, no. I think that would be a fabulous debate. Mehdi, let us know when is the event, how do people get themselves a seat at this
mehy:
So
andy___chris:
event?
mehy:
the event is in Hackneywick. Oh, you said when? Sorry? Oh, sorry. It’s
andy___chris:
Yeah,
mehy:
on the
andy___chris:
when
mehy:
28th
andy___chris:
is it? Yeah, how do people
mehy:
of
andy___chris:
get tickets?
mehy:
April. And
andy___chris:
Lovely.
mehy:
it starts doors open at 6 p.m. Then the debate, there’s normally like some food, people come from work starving, that’s what we realized. There is the debate starts at seven. It’s like two hours debate. We stop in the middle of it. And after we start a social part, this year we changed the boat for a bigger space. And we’re doing a secret theme, which I think is going to be really interesting. The guys put an open bar, food, DJs. So it’s almost a
andy___chris:
Oh
mehy:
full
andy___chris:
wow, it
mehy:
day.
andy___chris:
sounds…
mehy:
So people don’t need to come with energy,
andy___chris:
It
mehy:
but
andy___chris:
sounds brilliant.
mehy:
it’s really fun. We also, like, we, Bruno, we invested on the place so there’s better sound, better light, better food, better everything. So I’m really excited. I’m really excited.
andy___chris:
It sounds like everything’s bigger and better than before,
mehy:
I
andy___chris:
including
mehy:
love you.
andy___chris:
a bigger boat. That sounds like a line from Jaws. Or Christian’s country in Western stuff. But that’s another conversation. Oh, it sounds good. What we’ll do, Mechie, if you could let me have a link, we’ll drop that into the show notes, because this episode will be going out before the event. So if there’s anybody who isn’t already booked on, they can jump into the show notes,
mehy:
That
andy___chris:
click
mehy:
great,
andy___chris:
on the link and get themselves
mehy:
I’ll
andy___chris:
a ticket.
mehy:
get that for you. We’re gonna get a discount code for your listeners. And then,
andy___chris:
Thanks, sir.
mehy:
yeah, we’ll have a little fun. It’s really nice, it’s really nice. It’s completely worth it.
andy___chris:
So you’re a dentist, you did your MSC, you’re the co-founder of Dental Collective and if that isn’t enough, you also are the co-founder of Sustainable Clinics as well, which is an organisation that helps practices become more sustainable in their practice. In practical terms, what does that look like? How do dental practices kind of move in the right direction? Because we hear a lot about sustainability and what needs to be done, but how does that
mehy:
So sustainable clinics is a philosophy of healthcare. And we like to base it in sustainability and that means use as
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
less resources possible to treat people. This is linked mainly with prevention. The more we use our healthcare system, the less we use it, the more sustainable it becomes. That’s common sense.
andy___chris:
Mm-hmm.
mehy:
We
andy___chris:
Yeah
mehy:
like to link prevention is the main way of practicing this dentistry. And if these two, when you put together prevention and sustainability, you need to use really high technology, which nowadays we have amazing tools and materials
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
So basically we are creating a philosophy where all these dots are coming together to help clinics to develop this kind of dentistry and help them, apart from reducing their carbon emissions, help their patients to coalesce to the dentist, have a healthier life, looking to be treated, you treat them using the highest technology, which is using digital, using AI and all the software they have available.
andy___chris:
Really cool. So it’s actually a generational thing. It’s not something that you just make changes today. It’s
mehy:
No.
andy___chris:
like you say, it’s more of a philosophy.
mehy:
No, no.
andy___chris:
Not
mehy:
Yeah, because
andy___chris:
just changing
mehy:
we
andy___chris:
your
mehy:
looked
andy___chris:
life, Bob.
mehy:
into that
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
into what is actually which short-term actions they have a huge impact and there are not many, to be honest. Like the biggest problem is
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
the patients going back and forth from the dental clinic. This is what creates a 75% of
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
the carbon emissions in healthcare. But the waste that we create is
andy___chris:
Right.
mehy:
almost a 1%. on how we practice is mainly on you know you need to help patients you to go lesser to the clinic so I think this is going to take you know almost a generation you know
andy___chris:
So really interesting concept, isn’t it? Because I’ve never thought about the emissions from dentistry
mehy:
Death.
andy___chris:
more widely, is the transportation of patients to and from the clinic. The impact you can make as a practice. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it would still be a positive impact. But actually if you could create an environment where the
mehy:
Exactly.
andy___chris:
patients didn’t need to visit as often through the managing their better health or healthcare themselves, or as you say, there’s techniques now where there’s AI, some people are using tools and monitor aligners from home as opposed to having to visit practice or often those sorts of things. And going forward, where do you see dentistry going in the future in terms of use of AI and technology? If we kind of project out five or 10 years, what do you think dentistry
mehy:
I think
andy___chris:
will look like then?
mehy:
in that way it’s going in the right path. Hopefully it’s going to end up in the right hands. I think, well,
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
I think it’s clear that corporates will take over the industry or clinics coming together somehow. So it’s gonna, for me, it’s gonna be interesting. And I think they’re learning from the past. They’re actually letting dentists practice own dentistry. But it’s
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
a really exciting and unique moment in the dental history because we’re bringing a lot of cooler stuff. The big funds and you know business people they realize that there is you know is a need and I
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
going to be hopefully more research on doing better dentistry. But I think we’re going in the right path. And also, the expectations from patients are so high that you can’t do a bad job anymore.
andy___chris:
ம்..
mehy:
People are not accepting
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
any kind of treatment just like this. Making us, I think, I want to feel like we’re doing a better dentistry better than ever.
andy___chris:
Which is good isn’t it? A bit of competitive pressure, be that from your clinical peers in the profession or the expectation from patients. If that drives standards to a higher level that’s got to be good news. Quite often it’s consumer
mehy:
Yeah, exactly.
andy___chris:
that drives
mehy:
Yeah, yeah.
andy___chris:
challenges, isn’t
mehy:
You
andy___chris:
it?
mehy:
do a single central, you need to match it really well. You can’t just pick the color that you want.
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
People, they know what they want. They have information. They know that they
andy___chris:
Hehehe.
mehy:
can be done. And
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
they are pushing us to do the best that we can ever do.
andy___chris:
to do your best. Yeah, yeah, brilliant. It’s been a joy. We always finish up the same way. We always ask the same two questions. So the first question we have for you is if you could be the fly on a wall in a situation, where would that be? What would you be looking in on?
mehy:
You want the cool answer or like the politically correct answer?
andy___chris:
No, I think look looking at you and giving your history and your heritage. I think we’ll take call
mehy:
I think if I imagine I’m a fly and I see a room where Leonardo da Vinci is painting the Mona Lisa, I would be like wow and
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
then I can see like the backstage of the Rolling Stones.
andy___chris:
Fair enough, fair enough. Look at that, you nearly went for the classic, but you couldn’t get away
mehy:
another
andy___chris:
from the
mehy:
story
andy___chris:
rock and roll.
mehy:
that I can be like
andy___chris:
But there’s
mehy:
more romantic
andy___chris:
classic rock and roll. Haven’t
mehy:
about. I can probably, I have to be honest, I probably
andy___chris:
I?
mehy:
will go to the backstage.
andy___chris:
Rwy’n meddwl, ond mae’n meddwl yn ymdweud, ond yn ymdweud.
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
Rwy’n meddwl. Mae’r ddweud yn ymdweud yn ymdweud. You’re
mehy:
Bye.
andy___chris:
going, that’s another one to debate. I was going to say, yeah. Well, they’ve nearly been around as long as the Mona Lisa.
mehy:
Yeah.
andy___chris:
They’re doing pretty well. Give them a few hundred years, I’ll be fine. And our last one is if you could meet somebody, if you were given the opportunity to sit down with a nice glass of red wine, who would you sit down and have a drink with?
mehy:
I would probably, I mean I’m really fascinated to be honest about how Leonardo da Vinci could master so many different jobs, you know, different
andy___chris:
Ah, yeah, okay.
mehy:
professions.
andy___chris:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
mehy:
He had like 20 professions from
andy___chris:
Mmm. There’s an inventor,
mehy:
Yeah, Prody
andy___chris:
loads of things.
mehy:
would be him. That would be really inspiring.
andy___chris:
When you said at the beginning, is he kind of an inspiration for you? Because you were saying that you could see yourself having perhaps multiple different careers through your life. Is it you kind of the Da Vinci of the modern age?
mehy:
I mean the thing is that my hobbies are I make hats I make terrariums which you know I I you know I like art my house is full of art I like but you know in the future I don’t see myself as a dentist for too long I would like to change completely
andy___chris:
Right.
mehy:
to a different profession but so to see someone that actually can
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
not fit all of them at the same time I would like
andy___chris:
Yeah.
mehy:
I don’t even know if he can talk, you know, he would be like all in his world of creativity and fantasies I would be like, you know,
andy___chris:
Yeah
mehy:
how I mean obviously is in a different level of You know creativity and everything but yeah, I
andy___chris:
Mm.
mehy:
would be really keen to actually
andy___chris:
Hmm.
mehy:
meet him in person Yeah
andy___chris:
be cool. Well I think Mehia, I think Dengist is very fortunate for you to have come into it and for the time that you spend in it. I think you had an awful lot to do a profession with your flair and the ideas you’ve got. We appreciate your time today. We’re both coming
mehy:
Right,
andy___chris:
to the Dental
mehy:
right, right.
andy___chris:
Collective
mehy:
Bring your
andy___chris:
so
mehy:
trainers.
andy___chris:
we look forward to seeing
mehy:
Bring
andy___chris:
you on the
mehy:
your
andy___chris:
night.
mehy:
trainers.
andy___chris:
Looking forward to the debate. Yes,
mehy:
It’s gonna be fun.
andy___chris:
we look Yep, we’ll do that and we’re looking forward to do Bay and we’re gonna stick around for the
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
party,
mehy:
you guys.
andy___chris:
so it’ll be good fun. But
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
now, thank
mehy:
you for
andy___chris:
you for
mehy:
having
andy___chris:
your time today.
mehy:
me.
andy___chris:
It’s
mehy:
Thank
andy___chris:
been
mehy:
you for
andy___chris:
great
mehy:
having
andy___chris:
fun.
mehy:
me
andy___chris:
Yeah,
mehy:
and
andy___chris:
brilliant.
mehy:
yeah,
andy___chris:
Thank
mehy:
see
andy___chris:
you
mehy:
you
andy___chris:
very
mehy:
soon.
andy___chris:
much. That’s right, man.
mehy:
They care.
andy___chris:
Look, I see you up there here. Keep well. Cheers, man.
