by Prav Solanki & Payman Langroudi
The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests. The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow. Find out more at https://www.dentalleaders.co.uk/
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
7/17/2019
See how your podcast performs across key metrics
Recommendations available
Unlock the full report to see detailed tips
Recommendations available
Unlock the full report to see detailed tips
Unlock comprehensive insights including:
See how your show performs across every key metric
High authority scores make your podcast more attractive to industry leaders and influencers who want to appear on credible shows.
Sponsors look for podcasts with proven authority and engagement. Your score demonstrates your podcast's value to potential partners.
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses helps you make data-driven decisions to expand your listener base effectively.
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
July 29, 2026
<p>Shyun Patel joins Payman as a final-year dental student at Liverpool, best known for founding BDSA, the biggest undergraduate dental conference the UK has seen, and for buying his own practice before he's even qualified.</p><p>He talks candidly about losing the Dental Society presidency election, the autoimmune diagnosis that reshaped how he thinks about time, and the fridge-flipping side hustle that helped fund his first practice.</p><p>This is also a conversation about ambition and its cost. From the cathedral gamble that saved BDSA's gala dinner to the balance between depth and breadth of impact, Shyun's reflections on business are as sharp as his reflections on himself.</p><p>Expect thoughtful exchanges on hubris, communication as a clinical skill, sacrifice, and what it means to build something at 23 that most people wait decades to attempt.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:00:50 – Introduction</p><p>00:01:30 – Growing up in Liverpool</p><p>00:06:14 – Communication vs skill</p><p>00:08:36 – Teaching communication</p><p>00:14:00 – Public misconceptions</p><p>00:22:38 – Hubris</p><p>00:22:52 – Insecurity and upbringing</p><p>00:32:57 – Losing DentSoc presidency</p><p>00:41:20 – Autoimmune diagnosis</p><p>00:50:07 – Building a dating app</p><p>00:58:00 – Business by osmosis</p><p>01:01:26 – The value of asking</p><p>01:04:32 – Scale of BDSA</p><p>01:07:26 – Funding BDSA</p><p>01:17:07 – Leadership and delegation</p><p>01:21:00 – Sales and sponsorship</p><p>01:25:10 – The cathedral gamble</p><p>01:29:47 – The fridge hustle</p><p>01:41:07 – Ambition and sacrifice</p><p>01:47:43 – Blackbox thinking</p><p>01:52:41 – Clinical vs business</p><p>01:59:35 – Depth vs breadth</p><p>02:01:11 – Heroes and resources</p><p>02:05:29 – Fantasy dinner party</p><p>02:07:31 – Five-year vision</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Shyun Patel</strong></p><p>Shyun Patel is a final-year dental student at the University of Liverpool and the founder of BDSA, the largest undergraduate dental conference staged in the UK to date. Alongside his studies he already owns a dental practice, works as a dental rep for Bryant, and is building a compatibility-focused dating app in his spare time.</p>
July 22, 2026
<p>Two CareStack men, one origin story that starts in a Covid ward. Adrian Dray talks Payman through the lead-management deal that nearly bankrupted him, and how that near-miss set him up to bring an American cloud practice management system into a UK market that, by his own admission, "really dislikes change." </p><p>Kautham Haran, the ops brain to Adrian's front-of-house energy, explains how a fintech Start-Up background prepared him for the mess of onboarding whole dental groups onto new software. Between them they cover why CareStack bet big on a market the size of Oregon, what Rory Sutherland taught them about friction and the "doorman fallacy," and why AI receptionists might be dentistry's answer to the hoverboard fire hazard. </p><p>It's a conversation about building a company from scratch inside an industry built on habit, and what happens to your ego when the whole thing goes a bit public and a bit personal.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:01:00 - Introductions</p><p>00:01:35 - Covid and crisis</p><p>00:07:25 - Meeting Abby</p><p>00:11:25 - Kautham's fintech past</p><p>00:14:15 - The leadership trio</p><p>00:16:00 - Opportunity, defined</p><p>00:23:10 - Cracking the UK</p><p>00:31:55 - Straumann and strategy</p><p>00:36:35 - Built-in payment plans</p><p>00:39:55 - Onboarding challenges</p><p>00:44:55 - Surprises in dentistry</p><p>00:50:25 - Software's weak spot</p><p>00:54:50 - Regulation as moat</p><p>00:56:20 - Shaking up events</p><p>01:03:55 - Rory's insights</p><p>01:14:15 - Voice Stack AI</p><p>01:17:45 - AI receptionist risks</p><p>01:22:45 - Blackbox thinking</p><p>01:32:25 - Fantasy dinner party</p><p>01:40:55 - Closing thoughts</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Adrian Dray and Kautham Haran</strong></p><p>Adrian Dray is director of demand generation at CareStack, a cloud-based dental practice management system, having previously worked as a data protection officer within dentistry. </p><p>Kautham Haran is CareStack's head of implementation, joining from a peer-to-peer invoice finance Start-Up he co-founded straight out of the University of Warwick. Together they lead CareStack's UK operation alongside Shamanth, their head of customer success.</p>
July 15, 2026
<p>Neil Sikka joins Payman to reflect on a career that has moved from single-surgery NHS dentistry in Bethnal Green to building a ten-practice London group, selling to Bupa, and now helping shape clinical strategy across one of the UK’s biggest dental organisations.</p><p>He talks candidly about the Barbican Dental Care years, why he chose cultural fit over the highest offer when selling, and why he still practises one day a week after decades in the profession.</p><p>This is also a conversation about service. From funding a dental carriage on India’s Lifeline Express to supporting Dentaid and Mercy Ships, Neil’s work outside the surgery is just as revealing as his business story.</p><p>Expect thoughtful reflections on the mouth-body connection, Bupa’s future, clinical excellence, personal branding, charitable dentistry and the quiet art of getting on with people.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:01:00 - Bupa, leadership and clinical voice</p><p>00:02:45 - From Bethnal Green to Barbican</p><p>00:06:40 - Growing ten practices</p><p>00:10:30 - Selling the business</p><p>00:14:00 - Risk, reward and optimism</p><p>00:16:10 - Lifeline Express</p><p>00:21:35 - Mercy Ships and Dentaid</p><p>00:28:20 - Childhood and family</p><p>00:35:15 - Why he still practises</p><p>00:37:30 - Blackbox thinking</p><p>00:45:30 - Life inside Bupa</p><p>00:52:00 - Bupa Training Academy</p><p>00:57:00 - Mouth-body connection</p><p>00:59:15 - Personal branding</p><p>01:07:25 - A week in Neil’s life</p><p>01:18:15 - Dental learning and mentors</p><p>01:22:30 - Music, golf and real tennis</p><p>01:25:45 - Fantasy dinner party</p><p>01:28:40 - Last days and legacy</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Neil Sikka</strong></p><p>Neil Sikka is Chief Dental Officer for Bupa Dental Insurance and Director of Dentistry at Bupa Dental Care.</p><p>Before joining Bupa, he founded and grew Barbican Dental Care into a ten-practice London group, building a corporate dental plan model for major employers. He continues to practise one day a week and has long supported access-to-care projects through Dentaid, Mercy Ships and India’s Lifeline Express.</p>
Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.
Hap Gill
Guest
Mahmoud Ibrahim
Guest
Kiran Malviya
Guest
Chris O'Connor
Guest
Rob van Geffen
Guest
Kiran Shankla
Guest
Mahsa Balaie
Guest
Solmaz Samae
Guest
Lala
Guest
Andrew El-Khanagry
Guest
Sonia Rajput
Guest
Stina Sanders
Guest
Discover related shows you might enjoy
Dr. James Martin
Chris Barrow and Ashley Latter
Jaz Gulati
High Performance
Shivani Pau
Rob Bence and Rob Dix from The Property Hub
Practice Plan
Bloomberg
High Performance
Runner's World UK
The Overlap
Goalhanger
DOAC
Codie Sanchez
The Ringer
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
The Dental Leaders podcast takes you on a behind the scenes journey with emerging leaders in dentistry. Success leaves clues, and these conversations uncover the depth, detail, and backstory behind our guests.
The show is hosted by dental entrepreneurs Payman Langroudi & Prav Solanki. Let the conversation flow.
Find out more at https://www.dentalleaders.co.uk/
This podcast updates daily.
This podcast is available on 9 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.