DHS - 5th Anniversary

Dental Health Spa - 5th Anniversary

Half a decade may seem a relatively short time but in business it is a lifetime: especially if it is your business! Christina Chatfield has gone from  Dental Hygienist to innovative practice owner and become a mover and shaker along the way. The latter not planned but driven  by circumstances and the long awaited shift towards increasing access to dental services in the UK.

 

The celebration of this milestone was attended by the great and good that have shown support and faith in the belief that patients should have the right to access dental care at any point in the circle. The pyramid route via the dentist is clearly not working for huge swathes of rhe population and we are seeing that within dentistry, the practices that market to the custmers' needs are doing increasingly well. The Dental Health Spa is one such practice.

 

Designed with the patient experience as its focus, Christina and her team have created a unique and innovative patient centred home for dental care. Building a practice is a brave step for anyone, building a practice amidst  the shifting sands of legislation, opposition and suspicion is quite another.

 

As the sands shift into a more level playing field for those that deliver oral care, practices like the Dental Health Spa will serve to increase access to care and shift the focus from treatment to education and prevention, which is what oral health is about really.

 

 

 

Endorsement by Nigel Carter OBE

When Christina Chatfield first opened the doors of the Dental Health Spa in 2007 her vision was to create an innovative oral health care clinic right on the high-street. Since then, Christina’s pioneering hygiene-led approach to delivering oral health care, along with her consistent drive to provide care and treatment regardless of a patient’s medical history, has led to her gaining an outstanding reputation among many of the industry’s top peers. We are fortunate to have her knowledge and expertise in our community.

One particular area which has impressed me the most with Christina’s work over many years, has been her dedication to help those with dental phobias combat their fear and get them back in the dentist’s chair. One in ten people are now estimated to suffer from some form of dental anxiety, which is undoubtedly one of the major barriers in preventing people from visiting the dentist on a regular basis. Dental phobia can have tragic consequences for individuals, which is why Christina’s hard work, attention to detail and empathy in helping these groups of patients become more comfortable should not go unrewarded.

Christina has cultivated an effective new model of oral hygiene practice with her wide array of treatment plans, and in so opening dentistry up to a wider community. At the British Dental Health Foundation, we are dedicated to improving oral health for all…

Christina shares this vision, and what she has built at the Dental Health Spa strikes a proficient balance between delivering quality patient education with carrying out hugely successful treatments. It has culminated in Christina forging a business which puts people’s health first. Ensuring they not only leave with a clean bill of health but a smile on their face too – for this, I wish her every luck!

Dr Nigel Carter, OBE
Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation