Welcome to My Blog
Hello and welcome to my very first blog. I am coming up to my 25th anniversary working in dentistry, and I felt it was now the right time to finally share my journey, my thoughts, and my experiences in writing. For a long time, I shied away from blogging. I’d ask myself: What will I write about? How do I want to come across? Will anyone even want to read it?These are the same doubts many of us feel when stepping into something new.
But one of the great lessons I’ve learned in both life and dentistry is that sometimes you just have to take that first step. Preparation is important, of course, but so is courage. And so, thanks to a little nudge from someone who’s been an inspiration throughout my career, here I am.
Since June, I’ve been on tour with Chris Barrow presenting a “Masterclass in Dental Nursing.” It has been such a joy—an opportunity to connect with hundreds of people in our profession—and it’s coming to an end next week in Edinburgh. That experience deserves its own blog, and I’ll write about it in detail next time. But today, I want to start with my story.
Chris has been part of my journey since the very beginning. I first met him 25 years ago when I started with Boots Dentalcare in October 2000. More recently, he said to me: “You should write a blog.” I thought long and hard about it, and here we are. So thank you, Chris—you pushed me over the edge in the best possible way.
My blog will be my voice: what I’ve seen, what I’ve learned, and what I continue to experience every day in this wonderful profession. And for this very first post, I couldn’t think of a better place to start than by sharing my 25-year journey in dentistry.
A Journey That Began in 2000
In October 2000, I walked into an interview in London for Boots Dentalcare, not knowing that it would change the course of my life. I was offered the role of Practice Manager for their Birmingham practice, which at the time included both dentistry and chiropody. This was the best foundation I could have ever wished for. At Boots, I learned so many fundamental skills including HR, business, finance, dentistry, and patient experience that I look back on now and think wow—we were given so many tools to grow not only the business but also myself as a person. I still look back on my time with Boots with the fondest of memories. I worked with amazing people at Boots and this was what pulled me in: I felt accepted and that I had found what I really wanted to do.
In September 2004, I got the worst news—that Boots Dentalcare was being dissolved—and I had to announce it to the team the next morning. It was one of the worst things that I have had to do, and I was emotional about losing not only my job but also all the people that I adored working with. Things moved very quickly, for both Boots and me, and I was very fast in seeking opportunities and attending job interviews. Amongst the interviews was a practice called JM Dentalcare. I remember saying in my interview: “If you are looking for a yes man, then I am not the right Business Manager for you.”Lo and behold, this was a good answer and I was offered the job.
I handed in my notice the day after we had been told that Boots Dentalcare was being sold to Optical Express. Therefore, I would not be TUPE’d over, and I would finish at the end of Boots’ contract which was December 31st, 2004.
In January 2005, I stepped into my new role at JM Dentalcare. This was another turning point in my career. I worked alongside three joint owners: James and Martine Graham and Joe Henderson. They were a brilliant partnership, but what was amazing right from the get-go was that they were going to let me lead. They were interested in my ideas and I was fully invested in JM.
There were so many changes that happened: leaving the NHS contract and going fully private, implementing Treatment Coordination (TCO) from the ground up, and it was here that I really discovered my passion for the patient journey—helping people understand their choices, building relationships, and giving them the confidence to move forward with treatment.
In 2009, I took another step by qualifying as a Dental Nurse. For me, it was about having a solid foundation and, like my peers, holding a GDC registration number. It remains one of my proudest achievements because it deepened my understanding and gave me credibility alongside my role as a TCO and Business Manager.
As a BM, I saw it all: the highs, the challenges, the unpredictable situations that come with leading a dental team. What I learned is that practices succeed when teams succeed. Teams need nurturing, they need sustenance, and they need a culture that allows them to thrive.
Discovering Consultancy
By 2012, I had the opportunity to step into consultancy. My first gig was for Practice Plan—an opportunity to do a 20-minute training to 120 practice managers. I was terrified; I can tell you this was a step I never knew I was going to take, and also what this day would mean moving forward. On this day two significant opportunities arose.
The first was taking on a coaching role with Practice Plan, a role I have done ever since—providing in-house half-day coaching sessions, regional events, and two workshop tours.
The second opportunity came from a presenter on this day, Laura Horton of Horton Consulting. Laura and I chatted and got on well straight away, and very quickly we met up at JM for a meeting. I then became a lead trainer in her business, working with practices across the UK and Europe.
From 2012 to 2016, I had the best of both worlds: I worked three days a week at JM Dentalcare, and spent the rest coaching, consulting, and presenting. I was learning all the time, but I must say my professional training as an actor certainly helped—not only my confidence but also my style.
In 2016, I made the leap to consultancy full-time, working for Laura, which was an incredible experience full of learning, growth, and treasured memories. Then came 2020—and COVID. Like for so many of us, it stopped everything in its tracks.
This was a difficult time for so many people, and honestly I lost my way for a while. My career had gone from strength to strength and, for almost eight years, I had established myself in the world of dental consultancy. For me, this was a pause and a time of reflection. I realised that if I wanted to continue coaching and consulting authentically, I needed to experience practice life again—this time in the middle of the storm, which meant leaving Laura and Horton Consulting and seeing where this would take me.
Returning to Practice
In August 2021, I returned to dentistry as a PM. I joined a corporate and, to be honest, it was a good experience for me. But I can honestly say this was a time when I considered leaving dentistry. Had I come to the end of the road? Was this what I wanted to do anymore? What value did I have? I was unhappy and distressed. In December, I parted ways and was actually relieved.
For a few months, I worked for my original dentists from Boots Dentalcare, Hannah Le Quelenec and Colin Pocock, at their practice in Birmingham, The Dentist at Liberty Place. Although still in COVID conditions, they were so warm and kind, and it was nice to be with friends I trusted. I dental nursed and covered reception.
In February 2021, I joined Highfield Dental Clinic in Edgbaston as Patient Experience Manager and HR & Complaints Manager. It was a chance conversation with Stuart Gray, Dental Therapist, over Instagram that led me to this opportunity. I had employed him at JM, and working together again was something I couldn’t pass up.
It was a wonderful, enriching time and I got to work alongside a talented and multicultural team. I saw firsthand the resilience, creativity, and adaptability that dentistry required during and after COVID.
I stayed until August 2023, and those years remain invaluable to me. They reminded me what it feels like to be on the frontline, facing the realities of patient expectations, HR challenges, and the ever-changing demands on dental teams.
A New Chapter in Norfolk
In October 2022, my husband Colin and I decided to make a long-awaited move to Norfolk, to the coastal village of Heacham. After years of talking about it, we finally took the plunge, and in January 2023 we moved with our two cockapoos, Rory and Betsy. By June that year, we had added a third—our mischievous puppy Bertie, who is now two!
February 2025 marked another milestone for us personally: our marriage celebration. Although we had entered into a Civil Partnership in 2009, we chose to have a conversion ceremony surrounded by family and friends. It was one of the most special moments of our lives, and a reminder of how important it is to celebrate love, commitment, and new beginnings.
Coaching, Mentoring, and “New Beginnings”
Since January 2021, under the name New Beginnings, I’ve been providing coaching memberships and mentoring to practices across the UK and Ireland. I support owners, managers, and teams with the many challenges of running a modern dental business—everything from HR and compliance to treatment coordination and patient experience. A massive thank you here has to go to Andy and Becky Denny, who reached out for coaching and for whom I did a study club in 2020 that started the ball rolling.
I did not know if I could even run my own coaching business. I had so many doubts, and I did a really soft launch to see how I would fare. Not putting any pressure on myself, and having the safety of still working in practice three days a week, allowed me to gradually pursue coaching and develop what I wanted to offer to practices.
Running a dental practice today is about far more than clinical excellence. Patients expect seamless service. Teams need support and clear direction. Owners are balancing finances, compliance, and growth strategies. It’s no wonder that practices can feel stretched.
That’s where I come in—as a confidant, sounding board, and coach who truly understands both the pressures and the possibilities. I am not a “sitting on the fence” person. As I said in my interview for JM: if you want a yes person, I am probably not the right coach for you. My main goal is to understand your challenges and then see how I can help you. I am practical and want to give you not only advice but clear direction on how you can achieve what you want to do.
If you’re a practice owner looking for someone who has lived and breathed dentistry for 25 years—someone who can stand alongside you with empathy, experience, and practical solutions—I’d love to hear your story. My memberships are flexible, and I’m always happy to provide testimonials from practices I currently work with.
Because at its heart, New Beginnings is exactly what it says: the belief that while we cannot change the past, we can choose how we show up in the present, and we can shape the future.
Looking Ahead
This blog is just the beginning. In my next post, I’ll share the highlights and lessons from the “Masterclass in Dental Nursing” tour, which has covered Northern Ireland, Bristol, Manchester, London, Birmingham, Leeds, and our final stop, Edinburgh. It’s been a career highlight for me to really give back to the nurses. The feedback has been so lovely—from trainee dental nurses to dental nurses who have been in the profession for many years—and it has been a privilege to deliver.
But for now, I simply want to thank you for reading my story and for sharing this moment with me. If there are topics you’d like me to cover in future blogs, let me know—I’d love this to be a space for conversation as well as reflection.
Here’s to a happy September, and to many more blogs to come.
Michael Bentley
RDN, GDC 179421
First Aider and Mental Health First Aider