ABOUT THIS EPISODE
How do you find your thing in dentistry? Perio, purpose and patience
How do you build a fulfilling dental career when you do not yet know which direction you want to take?
In this episode of Conversations with Dental Friends, Rachael is joined by specialist periodontist, educator and speaker Dr Ian Dunn.
Ian explains why he originally planned to study engineering and how one short careers talk completely changed his direction. After qualifying from Leeds, he spent eight years working as an NHS general dentist before an unexpected teaching opportunity introduced him to periodontology.
What initially seemed like a route into another area of dental education gradually became Ian’s professional passion. A four-day periodontal course brought his academic and clinical knowledge together, transformed the results he was achieving and encouraged him to pursue further training.
Ian also shares what he learned from teaching alongside Phil Ower, why educators should remain connected to clinical practice and why the purpose of a course should be to empower the audience rather than showcase the speaker.
The conversation explores behaviour change, the relationship between periodontitis and wider health, the growing influence of artificial intelligence and the importance of remembering the person behind every periodontal chart.
Ian finishes with reassuring career advice for anyone feeling lost, pressured or unhappy. You do not need to specialise to prove your value, and you do not need to build your career at somebody else’s pace.
In this episode, we cover:
- How an engineering careers day led Ian towards dentistry
- Moving from general practice into periodontology and education
- The four-day course that transformed Ian’s clinical approach
- Why great educators empower rather than impress
- Behaviour change and the psychology of periodontal treatment
- AI, clinical data and the increasingly informed patient
- The contribution of hygienists and therapists to periodontal care
- Comparison, career pressure and finding work you enjoy
- Why dentistry still needs excellent generalists
- Accepting temporary discomfort when a job or environment needs to change
Links and resources
- Ian Dunn on Instagram
- Ian’s Perio Courses profile
- Perio Courses
- British Society of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry
- BSP Patient Forum
- The Sound of Periodontitis
- BSP patient resources
The BSP Patient Forum contributes the patient perspective to periodontal information and resources, while The Sound of Periodontitis shares the human experience of the disease through patients’ stories. bsperio.org.uk
Ian’s current professional profile confirms his continued involvement in clinical periodontology and postgraduate dental education. periocourses.co.uk
Continue the conversation
- Conversations with Dental Friends on Instagram
- Conversations with Dental Friends on Substack
- Conversations with Dental Friends on YouTube
- Listen on Spotify
- Listen on Apple Podcasts
- Follow Rachael at @homegirlhygienist
- Homegirl Hygienist
Free Career Planning Workbook
If you would like a copy of Rachael’s free Career Planning Workbook, comment or message the word “link”.
A huge thank you to Oral-B and NSK for supporting Conversations with Dental Friends.
