The Smile Stories Story

Let’s not beat around the bush.  The outside perspective of dentistry is that it is dull.

Boring, stale, stuffy, even scary.

But things started changing in 2020.

Zak and Gareth chose to create a new kind of dental clinic with one aim. To turn around this perception of dentistry and create an experience that you’ll love. An experience and service not only to break the mould in dentistry, but in any industry. Every Smile Story is a journey, and we want yours to end with you shouting from the rooftops “my Smile Story was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Smile Stories is as far from a corporate, faceless clinic as you can get. Gareth, Zak and the Team live and breath it every single day.

This is the Smile Stories’ Story.

It’s crazy how productive a 12-hour peri-chicken fuelled chat reflecting on our 20 years’ experience in dentistry can be. Sitting on the floor of a barren room in the original Smile Stories home on Castle Lane (yes, we did used to have artex on our ceilings!) thanks to COVID seems many moons ago.

Remember in the 90’s you used to walk in to a dental practice and it had that clove-like smell? You had to wait (because everyone was always late) amongst stale old carpets, church bench seats and a fish tank collecting algae.

You felt you’d insulted the receptionist’s mother when all you’d done was checked in for your appointment. And finally the dentist in a white coat calls you in to their “surgery” in an over-formal, weird way and puts you on edge.

Five minutes later (if you’re lucky) you’re kicked out the other side, patched up and clinging onto hope the same tooth won’t break again in the next 6 months.

“Hang on a minute!” you may be saying.

Yep, we hear you. It’s still like that now. But we’ll let you into a secret.

It really doesn’t have to be.

Peri chicken works wonders to bring clarity, and from thinking about everything dentistry does so badly we knew the experience we wanted to provide. If we could change your perceptions of dentistry, drag it out of the Jurassic Age and provide uncompromised care that we’d be happy for our own family to receive then we have a duty to.

A lot was put into that ‘melting pot’ on that old waiting room floor (no, it definitely wasn’t a lounge yet!)

Amongst other things… our values, beliefs and how we’d serve you best, but  we needed a name to bring it all together.

Although we love playing arts and crafts in a space the size of a matchbox, we never forget that it’s you we’re helping, not just a mouth. It’s knowing that we’ve made a difference to your life that gets us out of bed in the morning. It’s the lifelong relationships and remembering the ‘not-so-silly’ little details about your day that we love.

Smile Stories was born.

You’ve probably guessed we go way deeper than a logo, but seeing as so many of you ask what is means, let me explain. (And no, it isn’t fake Adidas. That’s two stripes, promise.)

The four stripes stands for your stories. Think books on a shelf or sitting at a coffee shop window with friends. Journeys. Transformations. Community. These are all things that Smile Stories represent. It’s what we represent as people. It’s simplicity represents the way we talk, jargon-free in language you’ll always understand.

We’re a clinic that provides dentistry for normal people with everyday jobs.

And you seemed to have embraced us. For that, we’re incredibly grateful.

Thanks.

So much so, in Castle Lane we ran out of capacity and couldn’t say “yes” to treating everyone (and the truth is we still can’t). In December 2022 we packed up our twinkly lights and headed only a mile away to set up our new home on Wimborne Road in Winton Banks.

Yes, we no longer have the artex ceilings, the patio doors, cocktail client lounge, creeking stairs, garage as a staff room or well-worn dental chairs, but we’re still the same team with the same heart.

The building may be fancy, there may be TV’s on the ceilings and the dental chairs comfier than your bed. We’ve got our own scent, a slick client lounge, and customised playlist that’s different to most…

… But we never forget our roots.

We’ll still give you that familiar warm “hiya!” you’d receive from a close friend.

We’ll make sure you’re listened to and understood.

We’ll continue to spend weekends away from our families on courses to provide you the highest quality care. And won’t ever do you the disservice of patch ups or rushed care.

You’ll be treated like we’d want to be treated ourselves and won’t compromise on that.

We’re honoured and still give ourselves a little pinch every time you choose us to be part of your Smile Story.

Meanwhile, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts as we continue to write our own.