Dr Balaji is the principal dentist and owner of The Gallery Dental and Implant Centre in Buckingham and has placed over 5,000 dental implants since he opened the practice in 2008. He is also the founder of ASHA (the Academy of Soft and Hard Tissue Augmentation), running courses and lectures across the UK and Europe

When I started The Gallery in 2008, the building was a complete shell and we had to start from scratch to establish a dental practice. In the first year, we had five employees and focused mainly on general dentistry.

However, my aim was to grow the practice to include teaching and I have been fortunate to have travelled the world, learned different skills and been able to share my knowledge and passion for education, which in turn has helped me to develop my practice.

All my skills came together when I developed an interest in implant dentistry. I had learned basic surgical skills early in my career and implant dentistry allows me to utilise these to change patients' smiles and often their lives.

I’m now doing more and more complex cases and am building a reputation as a clinician who can solve implant failures. Currently, 30% of my work is regular implant placement, and 70% is complex cases, such as bone and soft tissue augmentation and rehabilitation. I place around 300 to 400 implants a year.

The first thing I look for as a clinician is really good reliable equipment that will make my surgical life easier and won’t let me down. Secondly, it needs to be comfortable for the patient and thirdly I look for company support and service. I currently use the NSK Surgic Pro and VarioSurg3 because these tick all the boxes.

The VarioSurg3 makes surgery highly predictable, it’s faster and therefore better for the patient and the success rate is excellent. The VarioSurg3 and Surgic Pro can be linked using a simple cable. They sit on top of each other which keeps everything really compact and neat, makes life simpler and only requires one foot pedal. With everything in one place it really cuts down my surgical time and a faster procedure also means reduced swelling and reduces the chance of post-operative complications, so in every sense, a more efficient procedure benefits everyone. NSK also gives me fantastic support, they service my equipment regularly, so I never need to postpone appointments due to equipment failure. I can really rely on them.

I also use the iSD900 Prosthodontic Screwdriver on almost every case and this is a fantastic little tool. It’s an amazing instrument because it gives you great accessibility, in particular in the posterior maxilla and mandible. Trying to screw in manually with your fingers is very difficult, but with this screwdriver you simply pop the screw in and it becomes a single unit. The torque calibration system means you can prevent over or under torquing. It’s fantastic and again just makes life so much easier, it saves time and means I can carry out the procedure with confidence.

I’m a great believer in ongoing education and am the founder of ASHA, the Academy of Soft and Hard Tissue Augmentation. We run courses and lectures on treating difficult implant cases and I often mentor dentists who have been on my course. I’ve run some of my ASHA courses at NSK’s Headquarters in Stevenage and NSK has been incredibly supportive, providing all the kit and equipment necessary.

I’m very particular about the companies I work with and the equipment I use. NSK offers great support and a very high standard of equipment, both of which are fundamental, but they also invest time and money to educate dentists, which is something I’m passionate about so our relationship is built on a shared vision.

Find out more about NSK’s range of surgical equipment at https://www.uk.nsk-dental.com/products/surgical/

More about ASHA courses at https://www.ashaclub.co.uk/

Dr Barry Cockcroft CBE talks fluoridation and the BFS

The Probe Dental PodcastBy The ProbeOct 04, 2021