In this episode, Mike is joined by Dr Hussein Shaffie - Principal Dentist of Bexleyheath Dental Practice and The Sandford Implant and Cosmetic Centre. Hussein is passionate about cooking and has a YouTube channel called The Hungry Dentist.

Dr Shaffie was born and raised in Iran, and was exposed to business from a young age. Hussein would regularly help his father who owned a chicken farm. When he was just 9 years old, Hussein’s father proposed a partnership with his son; if he raised a baby goat, he would receive half the money they received from selling said goat. He learnt the value of hard work.

Hussein discusses why he chose to pursue a career in dentistry and his time studying dentistry in Sweden. After struggling to find a job in Sweden, he moved his young family to the UK. Within three months of arriving in the UK, Hussein had found a position as an associate dentist and offered to buy a practice from the owner. Better yet, he had no money and asked for a loan from the owner which he paid back in full in just seven months.

He talks about the downsides of working too hard to achieve success; namely getting divorced from his first wife and not spending enough time with his children as they grew up. Hussein is unbelievably open about this period of his life, and impacts his advice for new and aspiring dentists at the end of the episode.

Hussein describes how he learnt the hard way that you shouldn’t rely on handshakes when it comes to business arrangements after being burnt by “friends” and their spouses. In fact, he insists you always sign a contract!

Dr Shaffie talks about how he grew his first practice from one to twelve surgeries in six years, including the unique way in which he separated NHS patients from private patients. He also talks about buying his second practice and his plans for expansion.

Towards the end of the episode, Hussein proudly talks about how his team handled emergencies during the height of the pandemic, why hiring and retaining staff in a ‘Work from Home’ world is so difficult, and how his love for cooking led to a YouTube channel called The Hungry Dentist.

Finally, Hussein shares his number one piece of advice (which turns into a few value nuggets)  for any associate dentists thinking about buying or starting their own dental practice.

If you have any questions regarding practice ownership or cooking, then reach out to Dr Shaffie.

• Email: [email protected] 
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hussein-shaffie-b90a3733/
• YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCzZ-e3AzpQxhmb_Hgv6nUQg

Visit the Growing A Dental Practice podcast page for more details and links to streaming platforms > patientboost.dental/podcast

This episode is brought to you by PatientBoost - The Business & Marketing Growth Consultancy for Dental Practices.

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