About Me
People, not Patients
For me the most important part of my day is the person who comes to see me who has put their faith in my knowledge, skill and care. To that end my focus is on providing the highest standard of care I can achieve in a comfortable environment built on trust and understanding.
I graduated from Glasgow University in 2013 and spent the initial years of my career in the health service developing and refining my skills. I have invested heavily in these skills and reached a stage where I made a move into private practice. This was in 2019 and I now work in Edinburgh and Dunfermline as a private dental practitioner.
In dentistry many of us will have a part that we enjoy. I personally believe there is great value in being a well balanced generalist with broad skills and have worked to that goal - however I must admit my passion lies in restorative dentistry where I can rebuild the dentition to create a stable, functional environment. My profession shares lots of parallells with engineering, and I will often apply mechanical principles to what I am doing to create as stable and healthy an environment as possible.
This said, you cannot understate the importance of communication. The core of my care revolves around understanding and education. If I see a problem I will show you that and help you to understand it before we decide what to do. It is not my role to dictate from on high, but to educate and facilitate. I like to think those who come to see me leave with a full understanding of any issues they are having and the confidence that I will aim to address these issues to the best of my ability.
Following graduation, Allan initially worked in rural practice where he found a need to develop a broad skillset in order to meet the needs of his patients. Blessed/cursed with a curious mind, this led him down a path of professional development where he has completed advanced training in many aspects of dentistry and patient care, and is generally considered something of a “huge nerd” in his field. In 2020 Allan began lecturing on restorative and orthodontic dentistry and has spoken across the UK and at international conferences, leading to an award for “Most inspiring journey” from the CPD community he spoke with. Allan now provides mentorship to other dentists, giving back where he was given so much from like-minded colleagues around the world, but his own education is always ongoing.
At his core, Allan’s passion lies in working with his patients as something of a “dental engineer” - this means the goals of treatment will always begin with health and function, and the rest builds upon these tenets. You will find his approach to be gentle, caring, and comprehensive as he guides you through the management of your case and works with you to achieve your goals.
If you find Allan familiar, it may be because he was in Sensodyne’s global “Sensitivity and Gum” ad campaign in 2023, you can see the advert here: https://youtu.be/bOnljz1hF-8
