It’s all about values ... When I joined the noble profession of dentistry in 1973 I thought that I would spend my life drilling and filling. It wasn’t long before I realised that there is much more to dentistry and life than is taught at dental school. All the time we worked on models of teeth in a phantom head, people didn’t get in the way! The teeth didn’t moan, didn’t groan, didn’t ask questions they just sat there “fat, dumb and happy!” Then I qualified and realised that life happens.

Textbooks are a guide, seminars signposts, but life is the real teacher. As patient after patient, person after person defied the textbooks I came to realise that I needed my own set of values, understanding of situations and treatment modalities in order to survive in dentistry and life. I had to treat the whole person.