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Know Your Mouth, Love Your Smile

Warwickshire local twin brothers Viren and Upen Vithlani are the joint directors of The Grove Practice in Leamington Spa. We caught up with Upen to talk about all things smiles and oral health this week and blimey, were we blown away by his passion.

We’ve got so much to tell you about these wonderful brothers and their incredible efforts to support individuals in our community to feel confident, comfortable and content with their oral health. It’s so much more than just having healthy teeth and gums for this dynamic duo, and everything about The Grove Practice demonstrates this.

Growing up in Bedworth, Upen and Viren studied at Coventry’s King Henry VIII School before enrolling at Birmingham University’s School for Dentistry on a five year programme. They love being local to their loved ones and always talked about their vision for a private practice in the area. So when a serendipitous moment appeared, it was always going to be a yes. They stumbled upon the advert for Grove Dental’s sale and as soon as they saw this beautiful Grade II listed property in Leamington Spa, they had to have it.

Taking over the site back in the summer of 2014, Viren and Upen began getting to work creating a space for Warwickshire residents to receive high quality care in a relaxing and comfortable environment. Upen told us that seeing people grow and developing connections with others is what he loves most about being a business owner. That’s why at Grove Dental, every patient is treated as a person.

Upen and Viren work collaboratively with the rest of their team to provide exceptional care for each individual. Upen said “Dentistry isn’t just about teeth and gums, it’s about improving your general health and wellbeing too. That’s why we make sure you feel you are being looked after by human beings, not just dentists.”

This personal approach to oral health is especially beneficial to those who have perhaps developed a particular fear or discomfort for visiting the dentist. Figures suggest that over half of UK residents are still not registered with a local dentist and Viren and Upen are determined to combat this in our local community.

Grove Dental is a centre of excellence for dentistry in Leamington Spa, working hard to raise awareness of oral health, improve practices and experiences, with a team which are constantly developing their knowledge and skills.

The brothers have big plans for the site in Leamington, with space being created within the three story property which will act as an education suite. This will provide local dentists with a perfect study space to enhance their learning and understanding of oral health and to facilitate lectures and support groups.

Dr Viren and Dr Upen are constantly learning, adapting and developing their practice to offer the very best in oral health care for the local community, from investing in the latest equipment all the way through to growing their awareness of and working towards greener dentistry practices.

Upen told us that learning really is for life with dentistry if you want to deliver up to date, exceptional oral health care. Both brothers are secretaries for the Coventry & Warwickshire British Dental Association and selected Directors for Warwickshire’s Dentinal Tubules Study Club. Upen and Viren facilitate meetups, learning events and hands-on workshops to continually improve their practices.  One of their own dentists, Dr Harmeet Grewai, heads up these workshops across the UK.

It’s clear the brothers and their team are dedicated to finding environmentally friendly alternatives to their day to day practices too. In the past two years, they’ve been working hard to become completely digital, reducing the significant waste of paper records and offering 3D impressions to reduce gypsum dental model waste, which means no gooey impressions going in the bin! The whole team at Grove Dental continues to find alternative options for treatment, cleaning and procedures which are kind to the planet.

So whilst they work hard being kind to the community and kind to the earth, we aren’t surprised to see some of their reviews highlighting the exceptional experience patients have had at Grove Dental. The brothers and their team of highly trained dentists, therapists, hygienists, nurses and patient liaison staff provide a warm and welcoming environment where you are provided with outstanding levels of care.

Grove Dental provides patients with all kinds of oral health care; from routine oral health visits and hygienist visits to platinum accredited teeth straightening with Invisalign, conventional braces, teeth whitening, night guards, crowns and veneers.

Dr Viren Vithlani is the in-house periodontist, providing specialist gum health services and implants and often receives referrals from other practices to provide this specialist care to local patients. The team takes a great deal of care creating proactive treatment plans for their patients, which look in the long term for preventative measures, rather than tackling problems when they occur. With the support of such a highly qualified and caring team, patients are able to make the right choice for their needs which are minimally invasive.

Covid 19 had a significant impact on dental practices across the UK. We asked the brothers how they managed to cope over the last 18 months and what their plans are for their business now society is reopening. Upen told us how difficult it was to support patients at the beginning of the pandemic when practices were closed for three months. With guidance being slow and lacking much clarity for private practices, it was a difficult time to navigate.

As expected, sterilisation and disinfection procedures within the clinic were already to a very high standard so there wasn’t much change needed to make the practice Covid Secure, but the biggest change for Grove Dental was implementing heavy PPE for simple procedures, such as the large FFP3 masks used just for a filling.

The pandemic gave Grove Dental the chance to utilise technology for their patients. They continue to provide remote consulting, via telephone call and Zoom. This has given patients the opportunity to send pictures of their teeth and get supportive advice from the team at Grove Dental.

The brothers have invested time into creating a new website which is packed with useful information and they continue developing these resources for patients, dentists and students across the UK. They will be releasing educational videos and literature to their social media platforms and website as well as providing printed information that can be accessed in the dental clinic.

Upen told us that the aim for the future is to provide dental education outside the clinic too, giving members of our community including patients, schools and local dentists access to informative and useful advice about dental hygiene.

It’s all about patient experience for the brothers at Grove Dental, constantly refining their practices to ensure the very best. You can also receive their new exciting Airflow service with one of their dedicated hygienists. This service is a modern approach to the usual scale and polish that removes harmful plaque called Biofilm. Not many dental practices can offer this gold standard service, highlighting further the brothers dedication to offering the very best oral healthcare.

If you are already a patient at Grove Dental, you can make excellent use of their referral scheme to get 50% off your next oral health check when you refer a friend. And if you’re looking for a new friendly, welcoming and expert dental practice, Grove Dental offer a dental membership plan which entitles you to 15% off all routine dental procedures.

Get in touch with them today via their website here to book your first consultation. And don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for all their latest tips and tricks to keeping your mouth healthy!

Written by Heather Marie Willis.