This week, Payman sits down with Adeel Ali, an implantologist who's taken the kind of risks most dentists only talk about. Seven years qualified and he's already built multiple UK practices, mastered full-arch implantology including zygomatics, and most recently moved his family to Qatar to open a clinic from scratch—all whilst flying back every three weeks to maintain UK commitments. 

The conversation reveals someone refreshingly honest about not being naturally gifted clinically, instead crediting a relentless work ethic inherited from his father's 40-year retail career. They discuss marrying at 24, having kids young, and deliberately choosing to excel in every domain simultaneously rather than sequentially. 

Adeel's approach to business follows a simple framework: character-assassinate potential partners for integrity, find the best person doing what you want to learn, and when uncertainty hits, pray five times daily and trust it'll work out. 

From explaining why people should die with fixed teeth rather than dentures to how his wife rewired his mindset about Qatar, this episode offers an unfiltered look at making bold moves work through spiritual conviction and practical ruthlessness.

In This Episode

00:01:20 - Work ethic and retail roots

00:04:25 - Teaching kids about money and work

00:09:10 - Family dynamics and sacrifice

00:13:50 - Marrying young and choosing fatherhood

00:16:50 - Struggling through dental school

00:22:15 - Life-changing full arch work

00:23:25 - Finding mentors and the Tatum course

00:26:25 - Three-tier training programme

00:29:10 - Advice for aspiring implantologists

00:33:45 - Aha moments in implantology

00:43:15 - Mentorship beyond clinical skills

00:46:50 - Choosing business partners

00:51:15 - Practice acquisitions and growth strategy

00:53:20 - Comfortable in the uncomfortable

00:56:25 - Faith, religion and rating people holistically

00:59:35 - Prayer and God consciousness

01:05:50 - The Qatar move

01:09:35 - Building London Implant Clinic from scratch

01:12:35 - Wife's all-in mentality

01:14:10 - Flying lifestyle and health concerns

01:18:40 - Fantasy dinner party

01:30:35 - Full arch consultation process

01:36:25 - Cultural differences treating Qatari patients

About Adeel Ali

Adeel Ali is an implantologist who recently relocated to Qatar whilst maintaining UK practices. He's completed around 800 full arch cases and placed approximately 8,000 implants, focusing primarily on complex zygomatic and pterygoid cases. He runs a three-tier mentorship programme and travels between Qatar and the UK every three weeks.

In this Dental Leaders episode, Payman sits down with Fabian Farbahi, a 22-year-old Sheffield dental student who's already mastered something most people spend decades learning: the power of genuine conversation. 

Fabian spends 3.5-hour train journeys striking up chats with strangers because he's fascinated by people's stories—the same curiosity that drove him to become president of Sheffield's dental student society and spend two months on elective in Brazil learning Portuguese. They discuss Fabian's refreshingly unformed career path—he's drawn to oral surgery, intrigued by sports dentistry, passionate about public health behaviour change, and comfortable not knowing exactly which direction he'll take. 

The conversation covers his transformation from small-town student to confident stage presenter, lessons learned managing volunteers without pay, and why the best time to take business risks is when you're young. What emerges is someone who understands that dentistry isn't just about teeth—it's about connection, communication, and throwing yourself into uncomfortable situations until they become second nature.

In This Episode

00:03:35 - Choosing Sheffield and moving north

00:06:45 - Clinical mistakes and university challenges

00:07:40 - Student society presidency

00:11:25 - Train conversations and connecting with strangers

00:14:20 - Getting into dental school struggles

00:17:40 - Career interests: implants, oral surgery, sports dentistry

00:20:35 - Public health and behaviour change

00:26:15 - Implantology path and the dip

00:30:05 - Practice ownership versus travel ambitions

00:32:20 - Two-month Brazil elective experience

00:41:20 - Six-year projections and taking risks young

00:44:30 - Managing people without payment

00:50:15 - Business culture and leadership style

00:54:50 - FDI World Dental Congress in Istanbul

00:58:20 - Shadowing at Evo Dental

01:01:30 - Sponsor hunting and sales lessons

01:06:00 - Finding confidence through reinvention

01:08:50 - Fantasy dinner party

About Fabian Farbahi

Fabian Farbahi is a fourth-year Sheffield dental student who served as president of the Sheffield University Dental Student Society. Originally from Taunton, he recently completed a two-month elective in Brazil, working across multiple cities whilst learning Portuguese and immersing himself in the culture.

Nik Sethi returns to the podcast four years after his first appearance alongside brother Sanjay, and what's changed reads like a masterclass in professional evolution. 

Now president of BAAD and founder of the Elevate education platform, Nik's story isn't about flashy techniques or groundbreaking discoveries—it's about something far more valuable. He's built his success on a simple premise that many overlook: getting the foundations right matters more than chasing the last 5%. 

Through honest reflections on juggling multiple practices, raising young children, and navigating the occasional courier disaster, Nik reveals how surrounding yourself with the right people and mastering the basics can transform not just your dentistry, but your entire relationship with the profession. 

His approach to breaking complex cases into manageable checkpoints, leveraging technology for better communication, and building genuine relationships through dental academies offers a blueprint for sustainable success that doesn't require sacrificing your evenings or your sanity.

In This Episode

00:02:10 - Return to the podcast

00:08:00 - BAAD presidency and academy culture

00:13:30 - Young BAAD initiative

00:16:05 - Post-COVID events and networking value

00:20:30 - Career transitions and taking the plunge

00:23:15 - Keys to staying happy in dentistry

00:26:10 - Elevate education platform origins

00:28:00 - Focusing on foundations over the last 5%

00:29:00 - Patient communication and relationship building

00:36:50 - Building the Elevate diploma

00:40:15 - Business ventures and collaboration

00:57:25 - Learning from Dev Patel and Dental Beauty

01:00:55 - Drew Shah and Dentinal Tubules influence

01:02:40 - Leadership and financial education

01:04:15 - Spinning multiple plates

01:07:15 - Hands-on course disasters and problem solving

01:18:05 - Lab relationships and communication

01:25:15 - Trust and long-term lab partnerships

01:31:20 - Physical impressions versus digital scanning

01:33:15 - Using digital technology for patient education

01:37:00 - Direct versus indirect treatment decisions

01:38:05 - Check scans and real-time lab communication

01:40:00 - Managing patient expectations and workflows

01:42:30 - Complex case treatment planning in stages

01:46:00 - Importance of mastering the basics

01:50:35 - Materials knowledge and reducing variables

01:54:00 - Continuous learning and accepting failures

About Nikhil Sethi

Nikhil Sethi is a restorative dentist and current president of the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry (BAAD). He practises at Square Mile Dental Centre in London with his brother Sanjay and colleague Amit, and runs a second practice in Essex. During the COVID lockdown, Nik founded Elevate, an education platform focused on teaching foundational principles in restorative dentistry through webinars and hands-on courses.

When a slipped disc ends your dental career at its peak, what comes next? Randeep Singh Gill's story isn't about endings—it's about radical reinvention. 

A digital dentistry enthusiast whose career was built on precision and routine, Randeep found himself confronting an identity crisis when chronic neck pain forced him away from practice. But here's where it gets interesting: instead of retreating, he pivoted into the very thing he'd always loved but never pursued: technology. 

Now he's building Dental CFO, an AI-powered platform designed to give practice owners something he believes they desperately lack: clarity. From workaholic associate to tech founder, Randeep's journey exposes the fragility of our professional identities and the transferable skills we don't realise we possess until we're forced to use them.

In This Episode

00:04:10 - Why dentistry over computing

00:05:25 - Left hand, right hand

00:10:15 - Six-day weeks and holiday guilt

00:14:30 - When cutting down actually earned more

00:20:40 - Identity crisis and the grief of leaving

00:26:05 - Teaching himself AI and entrepreneurship

00:32:30 - The six-month online course

00:38:15 - Finding your niche: Cerec crowns and clarity

00:39:05 - Building Dental CFO for real-time intelligence

00:42:45 - Financial clarity as obsession

00:47:25 - LinkedIn and hundreds of conversations

01:03:30 - Blackbox thinking

01:13:30 - Mistakes in tech: ego and uncertainty

01:17:05 - Squad models and developer dynamics

01:20:10 - Missing the people and the routine

01:26:55 - AI anxiety and raising kids offline

01:29:40 - Competition nightmares in tech

01:35:00 - Fantasy dinner party

01:37:30 - Last days and legacy

About Randeep Singh Gill

Randeep qualified from King's College London in 2009 and spent over a decade as an associate, including 11.5 years at the same practice where he developed a passion for digital dentistry and same-day Cerec crowns. When a cervical disc injury cut his clinical career short, he retrained in AI and entrepreneurship, founding Dental CFO—a platform designed to give dental practice owners real-time financial intelligence and clarity.

Best friends Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi met at King's dental school and have remained inseparable ever since. In this episode, they share their journey from different backgrounds—Alisha's upbringing in Zambia and Natalie's roots in a medical family—to navigating their foundation years together. 

Their paths are diverging professionally, with Alisha drawn to implants and oral surgery, whilst Natalie gravitates towards restorative dentistry and aesthetics. Beyond clinical aspirations, they discuss work-life balance, the role of faith, and their commitment to giving back to communities that shaped them. 

It's a candid conversation about early career decisions, the pressure to succeed, and the power of friendship in weathering the uncertainties of young professional life.

In This Episode

00:02:10 - Meeting at King's

00:02:15 - Pre-dental school expectations 0

0:04:05 - Growing up in Zambia

00:07:10 - Coming from a medical family

00:12:30 - Different clinical interests emerge

00:15:25 - Specialising versus special interests

00:19:00 - Three-year career projections

00:26:50 - DCT plans and private practice

00:28:50 - Getting engaged during foundation year

00:34:20 - Work-life balance philosophies

00:44:00 - Entrepreneurial ambitions

00:50:00 - AI anxieties

00:57:25 - Faith and staying optimistic

01:02:10 - Darkest days in dentistry

01:03:50 - Blackbox thinking

01:07:10 - A smile transformation story

01:13:05 - Giving back financially

01:14:50 - Fantasy dinner party

About Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi

Alisha grew up in Zambia before moving to the UK for her A-levels and dental training at King's College London. Now completing her foundation year, she's discovered a passion for implants and oral surgery after shadowing clinicians in practice. She's recently engaged and balancing personal milestones with ambitious career plans that may one day lead her back to Zambia.

Natalie comes from Derby and a family of doctors who actively discouraged her from following in their footsteps. After struggling with self-consciousness about her teeth as a child, she found her calling in dentistry. Now in her foundation year, she's drawn to restorative dentistry and is considering DCT training in the field, with aspirations towards full mouth rehabilitation work.

Aditi Bhalla's story reads like a cautionary tale about high achievement. A specialist prosthodontist who ticked every box—academic success, specialist training, teaching positions—she found herself breaking down in surgery in 2018, asking the question so many high achievers eventually face: is this it? 

After developing De Quervain's tenosynovitis from repetitive movements and stress, Aditi was forced to step away from dentistry. What followed was an unexpected journey into spirituality, meditation, and ultimately, retraining as an integrative psychotherapist. 

Now she works predominantly with dentists and other professionals who've achieved everything they thought they wanted but still feel lost, anxious, and burnt out. Her transformation from perfectionist dentist to spiritual guide offers a roadmap for those struggling with the same questions she once faced.

In This Episode

00:02:15 - High achievers feeling lost

00:03:10 - The perfectionism plateau

00:04:10 - Growing up as the brainy kid

00:06:35 - School captain to dental specialist

00:08:15 - Choosing prosthodontics

00:10:20 - Breaking down in surgery

00:11:45 - Discovering spirituality

00:14:30 - The spiritual awakening path

00:21:00 - Retraining as a psychotherapist

00:28:00 - Meditation fundamentals

00:32:25 - Breathwork techniques

00:42:00 - Self-compassion versus weakness

00:44:00 - Contentment and ambition coexisting

00:46:20 - The wrist injury that changed everything

00:57:15 - Therapy versus dentistry

01:00:00 - Understanding spirituality

01:03:10 - Blackbox thinking

01:12:10 - The Wellbeing Hub

01:14:35 - Fantasy dinner party

01:16:20 - Last days and legacy

About Aditi Bhalla

Aditi is a former specialist prosthodontist who trained in India before completing her specialist training at King's College London. She lectured for both King's and Health Education England, teaching occlusion and toothwear, whilst working in multiple practices across the Southeast.

After developing Dequervain's tenosynovitis—a repetitive strain injury that left her unable to continue clinical work—she embarked on a spiritual journey that transformed her career. Now an integrative psychotherapist, life coach, and wellness advocate, she works predominantly with dentists, bankers, and medical professionals experiencing burnout and existential questioning despite their professional success.

Alex Buciu's story reads like something from another era. From endodontics in Romania to amalgams in Northern Ireland, his path through dentistry mirrors a deeper journey through loss, resilience and reinvention. 

When your mum dies at 14 and you're watching it happen, something shifts inside. When you arrive in a new country with £3,100 in your pocket—half of it borrowed—you learn what matters. 

Alex talks about communication trumping clinical skill every time, about choosing kindness when you're capable of violence, and why he'd rather be a brilliant generalist than a mediocre anything-else. 

There's philosophy here, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of honesty that only comes from someone who's genuinely fought for everything they have.

In This Episode

00:02:15 - Qualifying in Romania and building an endodontics practice

00:03:10 - The shock of NHS dentistry

00:08:40 - Why leave Romania

00:18:45 - Finding mentor Kieran

00:20:05 - Arriving with £3,100

00:26:00 - How to choose courses wisely

00:26:45 - The occlusion eureka moment

00:32:05 - Why not endodontics in the UK

00:37:35 - Moving to Peterborough

00:42:45 - Building from zero patients

00:44:00 - Favourite courses and lecturers

00:52:40 - Communication beats clinical skill

00:58:15 - Growing up under Ceaușescu

01:08:25 - Losing his mother at 14

01:14:20 - Volunteering in trauma

01:17:10 - Near-death experiences

01:24:50 - Blackbox thinking

01:35:40 - Fantasy dinner party

01:41:55 - Last days and legacy

About Alex Buciu

Alex qualified in Romania in 2004 and built a successful endodontics-focused practice before moving to Northern Ireland in 2018, later settling in Peterborough. He works as a private associate, focusing on restorative dentistry, occlusion and TMD, with a particular passion for continuous education and patient communication. Despite significant personal challenges, including arriving in the UK with minimal resources, he's built a reputation as an excellence-driven clinician who believes communication matters more than clinical perfection.

There's something about meeting someone who's truly hungry to learn. Payman spotted it straight away when Sanaa Harroussi walked into his Mini Smile Makeover course—that rare fire in the belly. 

But here's the thing: Sanaa's journey from Rabat to Paris to West London isn't just about collecting qualifications. It's about a woman who aced the ORE first time, built a fifteen-year career in the same practice, and then had everything turned upside down when her second son received a six-month life expectancy. 

What follows is a masterclass in resilience, the art of not taking anything for granted, and learning when perfectionism helps and when it hurts.

In This Episode

00:00:45 - Introduction and first impressions

00:01:25 - Growing up in Rabat

00:02:20 - Competitive entry into dental school

00:02:50 - How dentistry happened

00:03:50 - The serious student

00:06:25 - Postgraduate training in Paris

00:07:15 - Paris versus London

00:09:20 - The ORE challenge

00:11:20 - Blackbox thinking

00:17:10 - Finding her first job

00:20:30 - NHS reality check

00:21:55 - Patient expectations

00:24:25 - Family life begins

00:26:30 - The diagnosis

00:29:45 - Fighting for treatment

00:32:00 - Life with disability

00:33:40 - One day at a time

00:38:20 - The improvement obsession

00:40:00 - Retreats and self-care

00:40:30 - Clinical loves and methods

00:43:25 - Rubber dams and labs

00:48:40 - The digital question

00:51:10 - Invisalign journey

00:57:15 - Fantasy dinner party

00:58:45 - Last days and legacy

About Sanaa Harroussi

Sanaa Harroussi trained in dentistry in Morocco before completing postgraduate studies in prosthodontics in Paris. She's been practising in West London for fifteen years, building her career in the same practice whilst raising three sons. When her middle child was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, Sanaa fought to secure him a place in a clinical trial that would save his life.

What happens when a complaint over a scale and polish changes everything? For Alif Moosajee, a GDC investigation became the catalyst that transformed him from a dentist flying under the radar into the owner of Oakdale, one of Leicester's most distinctive private practices. 

This conversation charts his path from undergraduate struggles with imposter syndrome through the crucible of regulatory scrutiny to building a seven-surgery practice rooted in authentic patient care. 

Along the way, Alif shares hard-won insights about guided implantology, the perils of well poisoners, and why breaking kayfabe—wrestling's term for dropping the performance—might be the most honest thing you can do for your patients. It's a story about choosing growth over comfort, one calculated risk at a time.

In This Episode

00:01:00 - The Smiling Dentist origins

00:02:20 - Tony Robbins and the power of physiology

00:15:00 - Undergraduate struggles and fixed mindset

00:16:25 - The GDC complaint that changed everything

00:22:20 - Buying Oakdale practice

00:26:40 - Growing up in Slough and choosing dentistry 00:31:55 - Building the practice vision

00:35:20 - Firing the well poisoner

00:38:30 - Custodian of the vision

00:47:00 - The unmeasurable things that matter most

00:53:30 - Surprise and delight tactics

01:00:25 - Contentment versus ambition

01:06:00 - The Tony Robbins business mastery mistake

01:09:00 - Dark days in practice ownership

01:19:00 - Blackbox thinking

01:24:15 - Switching to fully guided implants

01:28:30 - Fantasy dinner party

01:33:55 - Last days and legacy

About Alif Moosajee

Alif Moosajee studied dentistry at Birmingham and owns Oakdale Dental in Leicester, a seven-surgery private practice where he focuses on implant dentistry and digital workflows. Known as "The Smiling Dentist" from his book published over a decade ago, Alif has built his practice around immediate implant protocols and fully guided surgery following early clinical challenges that reshaped his approach to risk management.

Raj Ahlowalia's remarkable 33-year journey in a single practice reveals what true dedication to the craft looks like. 

From almost missing university entirely to becoming an internationally recognised authority on functional occlusion, his story challenges everything we think we know about dental careers. 

The son of a polyglot interpreter who hitchhiked from India to the UK, Raj stumbled into dentistry through a teacher's intervention, then methodically built expertise that took him from Biggleswade to the stages of Pankey and Spear. 

His time on Extreme Makeover taught him the crucial difference between patients who want cosmetic work and those who genuinely need rehabilitation—a distinction that shaped his entire philosophy of practice.

In This Episode

00:07:15 - Father's extraordinary hitchhiking journey from India

00:19:20 - The accidental path to dentistry

00:39:25 - First job and VT experience

00:44:15 - Extreme Makeover TV breakthrough

01:13:15 - Teaching at Pankey and Spear institutes

01:28:00 - Blackbox thinking

01:31:40 - Forced retirement due to spinal issues

01:34:05 - Photography passion and flying adventures

01:59:25 - Learning NLP and hypnosis techniques

02:03:40 - Patient litigation experience

02:15:00 - Fantasy dinner party

02:15:25 - Last days and legacy

About Raj Ahlowalia

Raj spent his entire 33-year career at one practice in Biggleswade, evolving from VT to an internationally recognised expert in functional occlusion. 

He taught at both the Pankey Institute and for Frank Spear, appeared on the Extreme Makeover TV show, pioneering the first implant shown on British television, and developed a comprehensive approach to full-mouth rehabilitation that emphasises function over pure aesthetics.