Hello I am Martin Southon dentist and owner of an independent surgery, in St Stephens, Canterbury. We are long established with the practice being first set up in the 1970’s and I have worked here since I qualified at the end of 1987.

Specsavers with its strap line “Should have gone to Specsavers” is a very well known company buying up independent opticians to the point where there are very few independents left.In the dental world companies such as IDH, Oasis, Apex, Bupa, and JD Hull are doing the same and buying up independent dental surgeries.

These companies are businesses not run by dentists but by business men. Some of them set the dentists working for them daily work targets. This means that there is a fair chance that the dentist’s assessment of your oral health and your subsequent treatment may not be based on your actual needs but more on the bottom line of the company owning the surgery. This does not sound to me like an ethical and professional way of running any health care practice.

My practice is proud to be independent. A patient’s treatment is based on their actual needs and not on a target set by the business owners. So for all things Dental think of me and my team. We will ethically and professionally give you the confidence to smile.