What is the future of patient care in dentistry? CLINCON25 saw leading names in UK dentistry take to the stage to share their thoughts on the direction of the profession.
Taking place at Manchester Cental Convention Complex on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October 2025, mydentist’s CLINCON25 brought 700+ dental professionals together for industry updates, expert debates and networking – with its Excellence Awards gala dinner on the Friday evening.
Part of the line-up included a live panel discussion where some of the UK’s leading dental names highlighted a transformative era in dentistry. Hosted by Dentistry‘s Gaby Bissett, the panel included:
- Cat Edney – dental therapist and director of The Modern Therapist
- Arnold Gangaidzo – principal dentist at Lancashire Smiles
- Robbie Hughes – CEO and principal dentist at Dental Excellence and Avant Garde Dentistry
- Nyree Whitley – chief clinical officer, mydentist
- Jason Wong – chief dental officer for England.
Dynamic and rewarding
Driven by flexibility, technology, and evolving patient expectations, all panellists emphasised the importance of empowering the full dental team through skill mix and direct access, while also addressing workforce shortages via overseas talent.
Accessibility and affordability were framed as outcomes of innovation and prevention-focused care. AI and digital tools are enhancing diagnostics, communication, and patient engagement, though their integration requires strategic investment and team-wide upskilling.
‘Don’t go out and buy every shiny new object that you see. Rather than looking at the tech, look at the ROI or investment into the tech and how that completes a workflow, which then brings efficiency to how you work’
Robbie Hughes, CEO and principal dentist at Dental Excellence and Avant Garde Dentistry
Speaking on the importance of the utilisation of every team member, Cat Edney shared: ‘I’ve been advocating for dental therapy and a skills mix for years now and the more I see the growth in this arena where there is a skills mix, the more I can see happier clinicians, better patient outcomes and crucially – a better income for our practices as well.’
Robbie Hughes shared Cat’s perspective, adding: ‘As a dentist, the more we can liberate our full team with a shared care approach, the more efficient we can become and the more motivated our wider team can become, especially with the adoption of many new technologies.’
AI in dentistry: ‘Look at efficiency’
Looking at AI and technology today, Arnold said: ‘We use intraoral scanners and how we use this in our practice is to show the patient the state of their mouth and take the patients on a journey of understanding where they are. They may point things out that they don’t like or things that they’re curious about, then as clinicians we’re able to say, “Okay, well this is happening because of A, B or C”, and then there’s that co-diagnosis approach.
‘With tech, it’s allowing us to have a more human touch to our relationships with patients and enhancing care.’
Jason Wong echoed Arnold, but offered a different perspective: ‘I think everyone wants a piece of AI at the moment and its dominant in terms of everyone’s thinking. I think the diagnostic part is really important.
‘Having some sort of qualitative and quantitative help in that a lot of the administrative tasks that could be taken over would make things more efficient. There is a question as to whether [when piling tech onto one another] things get too expensive, so there will be a ceiling at some point.’
Robbie advised: ‘Don’t go out and buy every shiny new object that you see. Rather than looking at the tech, look at the ROI or investment into the tech and how that completes a workflow, which then brings efficiency to how you work.’
Nyree shared Robbie’s perspective: ‘I think there are two sides to it – there’s the efficiencies piece and then there’s also the conversion piece, because while you can illustrate to the patients and they can see what it is that they’ve got, they’re therefore more likely to uptake.’
Watch the full discussion above or on Youtube.
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