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/
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7/17/2019
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June 3, 2026
<p>Ali Al-Hassan is the walking embodiment of work hard, play hard — a young dentist who's gone from associate to super associate, practice co-owner and globe-trotter, all while building a following that brings patients straight to his chair. </p><p>In this episode, he and Payman get into what really separates an ordinary associate from a "super" one: bringing in your own patients, owning your fees, and treating social media as your digital shop front. </p><p>There's honest talk about outworking self-doubt, the awards debate, a vexatious GDC referral that came out of nowhere, and a wild Covid-era trading story that took a £50k bounce-back loan to seven figures and most of the way back down again. </p><p>Threaded throughout is a simple philosophy — do the thing, do it thousands of times, and let it compound. You'll come away with plenty to think about, whether you're weighing up your own brand or just wondering how one person fits in this much living.</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:02:30 - Work hard, play hard </p><p>00:08:10 - Growing up and family </p><p>00:14:30 - The inflection point </p><p>00:17:30 - Associate vs super associate </p><p>00:24:40 - Social media and the first Invisalign open day </p><p>00:33:15 - Tenacity and outworking self-doubt </p><p>00:39:05 - Niching down </p><p>00:49:50 - Cornerstones of safe GDP ortho </p><p>00:53:50 - Blackbox thinking </p><p>00:59:30 - The GDC referral </p><p>01:08:45 - Compounding and word of mouth </p><p>01:09:45 - Dental Opulence </p><p>01:18:55 - The awards debate </p><p>01:25:35 - Travel and friendships </p><p>01:29:25 - Working with Robbie </p><p>01:32:05 - The Covid trading story </p><p>01:42:25 - Examinations and case acceptance </p><p>01:48:05 - Composite bonding approach </p><p>01:54:50 - Finishing teeth upside down </p><p>01:56:25 - Fantasy dinner party </p><p>02:00:25 - Last days and legacy</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>About Ali Al-Hassan</strong></p><p>Ali Al-Hassan, known online as Doctor Ali, is a Cardiff-trained dentist working across practices in Swindon, the Midlands and London, with a focus on Invisalign and composite. He's a super associate who built his patient base through years of consistent social media, and co-owns the Dental Opulence clinic in the Midlands. Away from the chair, he travels monthly, invests, and is renovating a house back home in Swindon.</p>
May 27, 2026
<p>Ashley King and Sophie Lovett run the international side of Pearl, the AI company that reads dental radiographs — and they turn up as a self-confessed package deal. </p><p>The chat starts with what the tech actually does (a second opinion for clinicians, and a way to help patients finally see what's going on in their own mouths), but it doesn't stay there for long. Payman, Ashley and Sophie get into US versus UK dentistry, the state of the NHS, why trust beats price every time, and how AI is creeping into everyday work. </p><p>Then it gets personal: women and AI, the awkwardness of asking for a pay rise, what happens when a woman out-earns her partner, and whether having children is selfless or selfish. Honest, funny and occasionally controversial — this one wanders well beyond the X-ray.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:00:50 - Life at a start-up </p><p>00:02:20 - Life on the road </p><p>00:04:35 - Distributors or your own office </p><p>00:06:05 - What Pearl does </p><p>00:09:30 - Accuracy and limits </p><p>00:10:45 - A controversial take </p><p>00:12:45 - AI and the future </p><p>00:18:35 - A cottage industry </p><p>00:21:20 - US vs UK dentistry </p><p>00:24:40 - NHS vs private </p><p>00:30:20 - Getting set up </p><p>00:34:00 - The price </p><p>00:35:40 - Why trust is everything </p><p>00:37:45 - The word "sell" </p><p>00:40:35 - Living in London </p><p>00:46:50 - The worst of America </p><p>00:51:50 - Politics </p><p>00:56:05 - AI in their own work </p><p>01:00:50 - Women and AI </p><p>01:02:30 - The pay rise problem </p><p>01:05:20 - The gender pay gap </p><p>01:08:25 - Femininity as power </p><p>01:11:00 - Relationships and self-reliance </p><p>01:13:55 - Children</p><p>01:16:30 - Out-earning a partner </p><p>01:25:10 - "I'm just a hygienist" </p><p>01:26:30 - Business influences </p><p>01:33:50 - Biggest business mistakes </p><p>01:38:40 - Competitors and USP </p><p>01:45:40 - Guilty pleasures </p><p>01:49:05 - Fantasy dinner party </p><p>01:54:00 - Ministry of Sound</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Ashley King & Sophie Lovett</strong></p><p>Ashley King leads international partnerships at Pearl, having started out in dental back in 2018 at VOCO; she's from North Carolina and now calls London home. Sophie Lovett heads up Pearl's international market development and, despite only three years in dentistry, talks the clinical language like a native. The two are best friends as much as colleagues — which is exactly why they turned up to record together.</p>
May 20, 2026
<p>Professor Tara Renton OBE brings four generations of dental history — and a career built on curiosity rather than ambition — to her conversation with Payman.</p><p> From navigating undiagnosed dyslexia and a father who begged her not to follow him into dentistry, to becoming the first female chair of oral surgery at King's College London, her story is one of serendipity, resilience, and an almost obsessive interest in the patient behind the pain. </p><p>She shares remarkable insights into orofacial pain — nerve injuries, psychosocial histories, patients whose chronic pain only begins to shift when someone finally takes the time to ask the right question — and makes a compelling case for multidisciplinary thinking in a profession she feels has been far too siloed for far too long. </p><p>Sharp reflections on surgical safety, local anaesthetic technique, and the state of dental education sit alongside something warmer: a life philosophy that's disarmingly simple. Stay curious.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In This Episode</strong></p><p>00:02:50 - Four generations of dentists</p><p>00:06:05 - Child dental health crisis</p><p>00:07:20 - New grandmother</p><p>00:10:00 - Choosing dentistry</p><p>00:17:05 - Serendipity over ambition</p><p>00:37:15 - The juggle: three kids and a PhD</p><p>00:41:00 - Bullying and misogyny in surgery</p><p>00:44:45 - King's: first chair in oral surgery</p><p>00:47:35 - Multidisciplinary pain clinic</p><p>00:49:25 - The Iranian patient</p><p>00:56:00 - Trust underpins consent</p><p>01:00:00 - Classifying orofacial pain</p><p>01:07:05 - When grief resolves chronic pain</p><p>01:12:15 - Blackbox thinking</p><p>01:17:00 - Local anaesthetic tips</p><p>01:22:00 - Wrong site surgery</p><p>01:25:30 - Dental student selection</p><p>01:27:15 - Redesigning the dental course</p><p>01:47:50 - Bruxism: rethinking the evidence</p><p>01:50:15 - Fantasy dinner party</p><p>01:53:45 - Last days and legacy</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Professor Tara Renton OBE</strong></p><p>Professor Tara Renton OBE is Emeritus Professor of Oral Surgery at King's College London Dental Institute, where she became the first female chair of oral surgery — and one of the world's leading authorities on orofacial pain and nerve injury. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, she has authored over 250 research papers, completed a PhD centred on morbidity following third molar surgery, established a pioneering multidisciplinary pain clinic at King's, and carried out extensive medico-legal work in surgical safety. She is the co-founder of the patient resource orofacialpain.org.uk.</p>
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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/
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