A leading industry figure has announced his retirement after a long, successful association with the dental sector spanning more than three decades.  Kulzer, the UK’s market leader in composite restorative and impression materials, has revealed that David Miller, Managing Director for UK and Ireland, is to retire after 17 years with the company. 

Phil Castrofilippo has been appointed to lead the organisation through the next stage of its transformation journey.  Phil joins Kulzer from Zimmer Biomet, where he has held a senior leadership role as Commercial Director, Northern Europe.

Commenting on his retirement, David Miller said, “Kulzer’s aim to be the ‘lifetime partner of our customers’ has developed through a deep understanding of the evolving needs of dental professionals and their patients, and I am proud to have played a part in turning this vision into reality.  It is satisfying knowing how the Venus brand has helped our customers achieve the combination of superior handling and long-term mechanical performance with excellent aesthetics.”  

David joined Kulzer in 2005 and under his leadership the company has become the UK’s market leader in composite restoratives and retained a market-leading position within the impression materials segment. 

David adds, “The years have flown by and now is the time for me to hand over the baton to Phil and the team to take the business forward.  I’ve been extremely privileged to work in partnership with some of the most talented dental professionals as well as highly experienced colleagues.  Dentistry has given me lifelong friendships.”

Phil Castrofilippo is enthusiastic about the challenges ahead. “I am delighted to join Kulzer and am looking forward to working with the company’s talented and successful team.  Throughout my career I’ve been guided by the goal of improving and advancing care offered to patients.  I am confident that by continuing to drive innovation we will be able to deliver accessible, flexible and personalised solutions that address both customer and patient needs.”

Dr Sandeep Kumar, founder and CEO of MiSmile has announced the dual launch of a ‘Mastering Your Invisalign Business’ book and podcast series in which the trailblazer shares the secrets to independent practice growth – the Mi Way.

The guide to building a million-pound practice using the Invisalign system has been authored by Kumar and starts by telling the remarkable story of his self-made success; from his roots growing up in a small village in rural India, to arriving in the UK unable to speak English, and working as a dental nurse until he could requalify as a British Dentist.  

His lightbulb moment came when he realised he could use the Invisalign system as a primary focus for driving patient engagement and practice growth, and in April 2015 he founded the MiSmile Network to help other practices adopt his methods and emulate his success. 

At the Group’s Annual Conference on 19^th May 2022, it was announced that more than 100 independent general dental practices have joined the network, and are successfully running thriving businesses using Kumar’s proven growth model. The last two years has seen the network double in size, with a waiting list of practices hankering to join, and each member practice has experienced an incredible growth trajectory, with a quarter achieving Invisalign Platinum Elite or Diamond status. 

Kumar cited the book and podcast launch as the apotheosis of his career and at the unveiling he stated “Dreams do come true if you believe in yourself. The book shows how I learned to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants and become a ‘master of Invisalign’. Now for the first time, it is possible to learn MiSmile’s practical five-point model which has been created to guide ambitious dental professionals to grow their practices using the Invisalign system – without being part of the network.”

Listen and learn

The companion piece to the book, the Mastering your Invisalign podcast series, pairs Dr Kumar with inspirational dental masters and thought-leaders who will discuss their challenges and insights. A new episode will be released at 7am every Monday morning for aspirants to listen before each working week begins.  In the first episode Kumar is joined in conversation by Dr Christian Coachman – the guru of Dental Smile Design – and together they discuss what it is like to be a dental entrepreneur.

Justin Leigh, Managing Director of Focus4Growth, writes in the book that “Sandeep is an authority on providing best-in-class Invisalign treatment and using it as a key offering to align your team, improve the service to patients and fuel practice growth.  In this book he shares valuable insights, experiences and lessons that you can apply in your dental practice or group.  His connection between the team, the patient, marketing, leadership and running the practice as a business is a powerful one.”

Congratulating Kumar on the launch Dan Gallagher, Align Technology General Manager GP Channel UK & Ireland, adds: “Mastering your Invisalign Business – both book and podcast – provides a fantastic opportunity for dental professionals to discover new strategies and tactics they can used to help them drive their Invisalign businesses forward and boost profitability”

The book is available on Amazon and the podcast can be downloaded from Apple iPlayer and Spotify.  They can also be accessed via www.drsandeepkumar.co.uk