ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Could dentistry prepare you for business? From clinician to founder
What happens when the career you worked so hard for no longer feels like the right fit?
In this episode of Conversations with Dental Friends, Rachael is joined by dentist, facial aesthetics practitioner and founder of Whip Belfast, Dr Ariba Karim.
Ariba shares the honest story behind her journey from dentistry into hospitality and entrepreneurship. We talk about cultural expectations, choosing dentistry, navigating difficult working environments and the realities of building a career as a self-employed dental professional.
After working across Northern Ireland and Dublin, Ariba began to recognise that her mental health was being affected by a career she no longer felt passionate about. Through therapy, travel and plenty of self-reflection, she uncovered a long-suppressed ambition to build something of her own.
That idea became Whip Belfast, a personality-filled concept café known for its açaí bowls, matcha, creative menus and distinctly “girly pop” energy.
This is a wonderfully honest conversation about career pivots, transferable skills, financial risk, resilience and what can happen when you allow yourself to pursue the work that genuinely lights you up.
In this episode
- Why Ariba chose dentistry and what her early career really looked like
- The realities of NHS dentistry, self-employment and associate life
- Recognising when a working environment is not right for you
- Investing in further training and exploring different niches
- Mental health, therapy and losing passion for your profession
- Starting a business, experiencing financial risk and rebuilding after setbacks
- The skills dentistry gave Ariba that now help her run Whip
- Building a memorable brand through creativity, social media and community
- Ariba’s plans to grow Whip while protecting the quality of its original Belfast location
Links and resources mentioned
- Study Dentistry at Queen’s University Belfast
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek
- Watch Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action
- Derma Medical, where Ariba completed facial aesthetics training
Connect with Ariba and Whip Belfast
- Follow @whipbelfast on Instagram
- Follow @whipbelfast on TikTok
- Visit Whip on the Lisburn Road in Belfast
Continue the conversation
- Follow Conversations with Dental Friends on Instagram: @conversationswithdentalfriends
- Follow Rachael on Instagram: @homegirlhygienist
- Visit the Homegirl Hygienist website
A huge thank you to Oral-B and NSK for sponsoring this episode and supporting Conversations with Dental Friends.
If this conversation made you think differently about your own career, share it with a dental friend who might need to hear it.
You can also download the free Conversations with Dental Friends Career Planning Workbook by commenting the word link on the episode, and I’ll send it directly to you.
