Mentorship for UK dentists in their first five years
private practice, figured out together
A weekly video call to work through your cases, and WhatsApp between calls so you're never stuck on your own.
2
mentees per call (sometimes 3 while you're matched), or one-to-one if you prefer
1
video call every week
3–6
months to stand on your own
unlimited direct contact with your mentor, every day of the programme
- Presenting treatment
- Treatment planning
- A system for private work
- Courses and CPD
- Clinical discussions
who it's for
You're a foundation dentist or an associate, you've qualified in the last five years, and some of these sound familiar.
- Whether you're finishing foundation training or already an associate, private dentistry feels like a different job from the one you trained for.
- You've never had to present a large treatment plan, or explain a significant cost to a patient.
- Patients say “I'll think about it” and you never see them again.
- You're spending money on courses without a plan for what comes next.
Your mentor
hi, I'm Syed
I'm a restorative and implant dentist working in general practice, and I take referrals for implants and surgical extractions, including wisdom teeth.
I mentor because I didn't have enough of it at the start. When I eventually found a mentor, I had to completely rewire the way I worked, and that gets harder the longer you leave it. The best thing you can do is build the right mindset early, so you don't have to unlearn everything later.
Before dentistry took over full time, I worked in tech alongside dental school. I still build software for dentists: Praxis, a tool that helps associates keep track of their pay and patients.
I'm the one on your weekly calls and on the other end of WhatsApp. No hand-offs to anyone else.
- Restorative and implant dentist
- Takes surgical referrals
- Founder of Praxis
GDC 289983
between calls, you're not on your own
Ask when it happens
The awkward patient question, the clinical photo, the plan you're unsure about.
Get a straight answer
Practical advice when you need it, usually the same day on weekdays, not a week later.
Bring it to the call
Then we go through it properly, together, on your next call.
Mentorship group
You, your pair, Syed
- MenteePatient has loads of old amalgams and cracked teeth. They say that nothing hurts. How do I treatment plan them and encourage them to be proactive before something breaks or causes toothache?19:42
- SyedStart with photos, not the plan. Intraoral shots of the cracks and failing margins on a screen do more than any explanation. Let them see what you see.19:58
- MenteeAnd when they say “but it doesn't hurt”?20:04
- SyedAgree with them: not yet. Cracked teeth often announce themselves by breaking. Then phase it. Worst teeth first, the rest photographed and monitored. Proactive doesn't have to mean all at once.20:11
Mentorship group
You, your pair, Syed
- MenteePatient has loads of old amalgams and cracked teeth. They say that nothing hurts. How do I treatment plan them and encourage them to be proactive before something breaks or causes toothache?19:42
- SyedStart with photos, not the plan. Intraoral shots of the cracks and failing margins on a screen do more than any explanation. Let them see what you see.19:58
- MenteeAnd when they say “but it doesn't hurt”?20:04
- SyedAgree with them: not yet. Cracked teeth often announce themselves by breaking. Then phase it. Worst teeth first, the rest photographed and monitored. Proactive doesn't have to mean all at once.20:11
what we work on
- Presenting treatment
- How to explain bigger cases so patients understand the options and the costs.
- Treatment planning
- Real cases, talked through before you commit to a plan.
- A system for private work
- A start-to-finish framework for private patients that you adapt to suit you, then repeat.
- Courses and CPD
- Which ones are worth the money now, and which can wait.
- Clinical discussions
- Learn to do consistently great clinical work in a realistic GDP setting, with less stress.
how it works
Why pairs? Mentees told me this is where they learn most. You present your cases, hear feedback on theirs, and pick up as much from the other person's patients as from your own.
- 1
Book a call
Tell me where you are in your career and what you're stuck on, then pick a time to talk.
- 2
Sign up
If it's the right fit for both of us, you choose a pair or one-to-one and start.
- 3
Get paired
Come on your own and I'll match you with a compatible colleague at a similar stage, so you learn well together. Or pair up with a friend who has signed up too.
- 4
Weekly video call
We work through your cases, treatment plans and decisions as they come up.
- 5
WhatsApp in between
Send the photo, the treatment plan or the awkward patient question when it happens, not a week later.
from mentees
Two first-year associates, mentored together as a pair, on what's changed.
Joined as a pair with his friend Omar.
“Coming out of foundation training, I'd never had to discuss bigger treatment plans or significant costs with patients. Syed gave me a framework for private work from start to finish. I've swapped in what works for me, but the backbone is his, and now it runs almost on autopilot.”
Larger treatment plans
The best part, after having no experience of them in foundation training
Start to finish
A clear framework for working in private
Autopilot
Reproducible every time, without the mental load
Dr Sahand Abolfathi
First-Year Dental Associate
support that lasts longer than a weekend
A one or two day course often costs £1,500 to £3,000, and once it's over you're on your own. Mentorship keeps going while you put things into practice, so what you learn actually gets used.
Bars show how long support lasts, not cost.
what it costs
In a pair
Recommended£200per month, per person
Mentees say they learn the most, and the fastest, this way, whilst spending less each month. Come on your own and I'll match you with a compatible colleague at a similar stage, so you learn well together. Or pair up with someone you know who has signed up too.
If there isn't a suitable match yet, you may start one-to-one or in a group of three until there is. Your price stays £200.
- A weekly video call to go through your cases
- WhatsApp access for advice between calls, with replies usually the same day on weekdays
- Help with treatment plans, consultations and clinical daily work
One-to-one
£400per month
Every call is just you and me. For anyone who feels they'll get more out of it with no one else there.
- A weekly video call to go through your cases
- WhatsApp access for advice between calls, with replies usually the same day on weekdays
- Help with treatment plans, consultations and clinical daily work
Weekly and daily figures are the monthly price spread across a year (12 months ÷ 52 weeks, then ÷ 7 days). You pay monthly, and can cancel before your next month starts.
how long it lasts
The programme runs for three to six months. The aim is for you to stop needing me: by the end you should have a way of working that runs on its own. You can carry on afterwards if we both agree it's still useful.
When the formal mentorship ends, you join a group chat with current and past mentees to keep discussing cases. Direct WhatsApp access ends then, so I can give my time to the people currently in the programme.
Month 0
Call, sign up, then you're paired or start one-to-one
Month 3
The aim: a way of working that runs on its own
Month 6
Formal mentorship ends, or carry on if we both agree it's still useful
After
Join the group chat with current and past mentees
questions
No. Plenty of dentists start out mostly NHS. Part of the point is working out how and when to move.
book a call to learn more
Places: open now. I take a small number of new mentees each month so everyone gets proper time.
You'll speak to me, Dr Syed Ali30 minutes on Google Meet
Tell me a little about where you are, then pick a time. We'll talk through what you want to get better at and how the mentorship would work for you. Booking a call doesn't commit you to anything.