Issue 24 | Page 46

Winning by smiles

Business support gives Teesside dental practice plenty to smile about

Baines Jewitt director Jed Lester ( left ) at Hardwick Dental Practice with practice manager Melissa Martin and dentists Deepa and Syed Abdullah .
Dentists Syed and Deepa Abdullah have a lot to smile about . Since completing their dentistry training in 2004 , the husband-and-wife team have put down roots in the UK , bought their first dental practice and already have plans to expand their business .

T he dynamic duo , who own Hardwick Dental Practice in Stockton , moved to the UK from India in 2005 . After completing international qualifying exams , conducted by the General Dental Council , to enable them to carry out dentistry work in the UK , Syed started work as a general dental practitioner in 2007 and Deepa began work as a dentist in 2009 .

Since then , they have built up a wealth of hands-on experience across various dental surgeries in the North-East , and it was while working for the former owner of Hardwick Dental Practice that Syed seized an opportunity that seemed too good to miss .
“ I was looking for a change and the practice owner announced that he was thinking of selling the business . Having already worked there as an associate for two years , I knew that I liked the staff and the practice in general . So , in 2014 , Deepa and I purchased it and we haven ’ t looked back .
“ We recognised that the practice was already well established , as it catered for a high-needs population and had a good reputation . However , we believed we could enhance the level of service even further ,” explains Syed .
Key to Syed and Deepa ’ s success is their desire to provide an excellent dentistry service to the local community , having a great team of
46 | Tees Business