Dr. Richard Kahan is the Clinical Director and founder of the Academy of Advanced Endodontics, a specialist endodontic practice in London. Academy endodontists use cutting edge technology in the diagnosis and treatment of endodontic issues, as well as teaching general practitioners the fundamentals of endodontic treatment and training endodontic specialists.
Why did you become a dentist?
It was a mistake! As a youngster I loved building models. My mother recognized that I was good with my hands and decided it would be good for me a dentist. This idea must have tunneled deep into my head. In school I had no problems passing exams and drifted towards the sciences, In the English education system you have to decide at a ridiculously early age what you want to do for the rest of your life. Making my choice at the age of 16, my mum’s words came to me and I decided “I’ll do dentistry “. (laughing). What a mistake!
After leaving dental school and going into general practice I realised I didn’t like it much at all. I decided to specialise in Endodontics, working in an even smaller area of dentistry. This meant there was even less that I could do. Rather than broadening my horizons, I was narrowing them. Having then trained for about 12 years, it gradually dawned on me, “I don’t really like this much“ (laughing). But what can you do? By this stage you have a family, a house, there was only one tiny thing you can do well, you cannot just give it all up. So, yes, it was an error.
But I get by because as much as I don’t like what I do, I believe that whatever one does for a living, one should be the very best, and it is my daily struggle to be the very best that has kept me going these 34 years. The passion that I show is the passion to be the best, not for any passion towards Dentistry. The day I do think I am the best, is the day I will need to retire.
Also, I like toys. I like playing with all sorts of technological equipment and computers, trying to innovate and take ideas from mainstream communication and technology to improve my dentistry. In endo you get to play with lots of toys! I also enjoy teaching and have always done so since I completed my Masters, teaching the next generation of endodontists and general practitioners how to save teeth with decent endo. These days I get some fulfillment treating different and interesting patients.
What do you do when you're not in the office?
Unfortunately, over the years the hobbies that I did have like sports such as football, tennis or skiing, and perhaps going to the theatre or cinema, kind of dropped away with the stresses of work. And as time has gone by I’ve done less and less in terms of hobbies and I have been spent most of my time outside the office, working, Writing reports, preparing lectures, reading journals, and working on plans and thinking about ways of doing things better. So I became very focused on work. But I guess family is my hobby now, I have three little grandchildren, and they are really a joy.
What was your most interesting experience in the practice / with a patient?
It may sound shallow, but the most interesting experiences for me over the years has been being able to meet and treat some of my heroes, celebrities, and the kind of people you read about in the paper. Actually, meeting them in the flesh and then treating them. I learned a little more about who they are and realizing that they are pretty much human like anybody else. It has been one of the advantages of moving up through the profession and becoming good at something. The downside is not being able to tell anyone about it!
What was your biggest learning?
The moment you realize how little you know. When you first qualify you think to yourself it is all just a question of going out, start practicing, making a living. But what happens is, you begin to work and if you are bright enough you will start to think a little bit deeper about what you’re doing. Then you realize that you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re just following instructions that someone has given you, that don’t necessarily make sense. So you start to go looking for the answers. You go on courses, You start the specialization process. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how much you know and how deep you dig, because there are always deeper layers. I know there’s a lot I still don’t know. So, what I learned the most is how little I know, I guess.
What are your current challenges as a dentist?
Just trying to make a living actually. (laughing) Here is a bit of honesty. People often think that dentists make a lot of money, but I seem quite incapable of making money. If somebody wants something for the half-price, I will give it for half price because I actually don’t think my work is that wonderful. When it comes to talking about prices to patients, I can’t do it, so when they talk about money at reception. I hide behind the door because I am too embarrassed at how much they are asking. That had been a constant problem for me.
How can you reconcile professional and private life?
I already told you that I don’t. I am constantly one-track minding my work, my teaching, the Academy. I am conflicted. I don’t like doing the work that I am doing. I don’t like doing the paperwork. but if I don’t do it, I get frustrated that it’s not being done. At least if I do it, I get the satisfaction that it’s done.
Is the role of the woman different from that of the man as a dentist?
No I don’t see any difference in the female dentists that I teach. They are just as bad as the males. (laughing). Although, that’s not quite true. Some of the most technically gifted operators have been women. and are absolutely terrific at endodontics. They are more motivated. I think one thing about the dentistry is that the career structure is easier for women, they can more easily balance their lives.
How did you find Morita and how was your first encounter with Morita?
In 2000. It was the first time I came across Morita. and I found 3-dimensional images produced by the first Accuitomo machines. I realized what an unbelievable difference it would make to the dentistry that I did. There was no 3D imaging yet in endodontics and I really thought this was going to be the future. The problem was that the Accuitomo was simply too big and I didn’t have a free room for it. It was only when the smaller footprint 3D Veraviewepocs came out, that I was able to get hold of, and use the technology. I think I was the first person in the UK to get this Morita scanner. rom there on I was seriously impressed with the company, the technical and engineering quality, and the support that we were getting was excellent. And it’s been a good ride all the way through.
What does Morita matter to you?
It’s the quality of the engineering that marks out Morita. With imaging, it is important that Morita was one of the first to bring CBCT to the dental market and their experience is a vital resource. Maybe that is the reason why their scans look so much better than those produced by other machines. I don’t know whether it is the software, the engineering – or probably a combination of both. They have so many years of experience, you simply get the very best. That’s what I get out of it.
What would you like Morita to do in the future?
I would like them to have a greater presence in the UK. I would like to work together with their experienced engineers to bring their technologies to the forefront of endodontics. To take their equipment and to innovate and experiment, and then to teach ways in which we can carry out the objectives of endodontic treatment more effectively and efficiently, without damaging or weakening teeth, and helping our patients to save their teeth.