Robots have been placing dental implants in real patients since Yomi's FDA clearance in 2017. And it has split implant surgeons down the middle. One side says this is accuracy beyond any human hand. The other says we are training a generation of dentists who will not be able to operate when the technology cannot.

Dr Jono Michael is one of the few people who can judge that argument rather than just react to it. He is an implant and reconstructive dentist in Sydney with a Master's in Oral Implantology from Goethe University in Frankfurt. He uses guided surgery every week, and he studied robotic assistance as part of his training.

In this episode:

🦷 Static guides, dynamic navigation and full robotics, explained as if you were the patient
📊 The $200,000 robot, and what he learned about robotic surgery during his Master's
✋ Why more than half his work is still freehand, and why he goes unguided for full arch
⚠️ The 1mm problem: when a small deviation is the difference between success and a damaged nerve
🤔 The deskilling question: if the next generation trains only on guides, who operates when the technology cannot?
✈️ The autopilot parallel: is dentistry repeating aviation's mistake?
🤖 Would he let a robot place an implant in his own mouth? His answer: "Not today."
💬 His advice to young dentists: take it slow, check everything twice, and it is okay to say no

Timestamps:
00:00 Robots are placing implants right now
01:25 Why dentistry, why implants
03:51 Why he left Australia for Goethe, Frankfurt
07:50 Guided surgery explained: static, dynamic, robotic
11:32 What a guide changes on surgery day
16:21 Why he goes freehand for full arch
27:19 The $200,000 robot
36:02 The 2026 meta-analysis: robots win on accuracy. Does that settle it?
42:03 Future of accuracy, or a solution looking for a problem?
45:46 The deskilling question
53:08 Will robots replace implantologists?
56:46 Rapid fire
1:02:21 Should you trust them?

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📲 Dr Jono Michael on Instagram: https://instagram.com/dr.jonmichael
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📖 My book, The $2 Dentist: https://betweenpatients.online

Dr Dahlia Brinklow is an associate at Harpers Dental, and she's built something most associates never do: patients who come back for her. In this episode she breaks down why loyalty lives with the dentist, not the practice, and what that means for every associate quietly building their name.

We get into:

• Why patients follow the dentist, not the building
• The mistake young dentists make: thinking their work isn't good enough to show
• Why taking photos of your work matters more than any marketing
• Building a name as an associate inside someone else's practice
• Confidence, self-worth, and valuing a decade in dentistry

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Apply to be a guest on Between Patients: https://betweenpatients.online/#apply

Get the book, The $2 Dentist: https://betweenpatients.online/book

Follow Moiz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moizkhurram_/

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Dr Bazgah Siddique has spent 25 years in the profession, across two countries. She trained in Lahore, sat the ORE, and rebuilt her entire career in the UK from scratch. Today she's an implant surgeon working across five practices, and she teaches the next generation coming up behind her.

In this episode she opens up about the stress nobody talks about. The fear of litigation. The isolation of the surgery. Why dentists take every failure personally. And what actually helps.

We get into:

• The numbers on dentist stress, and why they're worse than most people realise
• Why dentistry is such an isolating profession
• The "golden handcuff": earning only while you're hands-on
• Why patients follow the dentist, not the practice
• Perfectionism, and why you can't control the biology of a patient
• What she tells a dentist who's crying in their car between patients
• The advice she'd give any young dentist entering the profession
• Why she now trains fresh graduates, and her December course in Lahore

If you're a dentist carrying this alone, this one's for you.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123. The BDA and your indemnity provider also offer confidential support.

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• Follow Dr Bazgah on Instagram: @dr.bazgahsiddique
• Apply to be a guest on Between Patients: https://betweenpatients.online/#apply
• Get the book, The $2 Dentist: https://betweenpatients.online/book
• Follow Moiz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moizkhurram_/

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Get a 24/7 AI voice receptionist that sounds human and takes every call your team can't
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He's an oral and maxillofacial surgeon trained in Brazil, with a PhD from King's College London, and the founder of RIT Premium Dental Care. In this episode he breaks down how he actually did it, what it cost him, and what he'd tell any dentist trying to grow.

We get into why dental school makes brilliant clinicians and broke owners, why he thinks the "jack of all trades" dentist is a trap, and the one decision he says matters more than any other when you scale. Plus the honest advice he gives an overseas dentist landing in the UK with nothing but a degree.

In this conversation:

• Why the first clinic always feels like a baby, and how RIT grew from three surgeries to six
• The "lone hero" problem in dentistry, and why doctors are trained differently
• Choosing a business partner is like a wedding. Right person, set for life. Wrong one, you're in trouble.
• Why bad products can't be sold for long, no matter how nice the practice smells
• What dental schools never teach about running a practice, and where to actually learn it
• His advice to any owner itching to open a second location
• The most expensive mistake he made in 20 years: buying technology too early
• "It's not the arrow, it's the archer." Invest in skill before kit.

—

• Get the book, The $2 Dentist, on why brilliant dentists build broke practices and how to never become one: https://betweenpatients.online/book
• Want to be a guest on Between Patients? Apply here: https://betweenpatients.online/#apply
• Follow Moiz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moizkhurram_/
• Run a dental practice? Get a 24/7 AI voice receptionist that answers every call and books patients straight into your diary. 14 days free, no upfront cost, no card required: https://selenicai.com/safety-net

  Part 1 (00:00–11:00)
  Between Patients Podcast
  Host: Muhammad Moiz Khurram
  Guest: Dr. Alex Marques
  Brand: RIT Premium Dental Care
  Muhammad Moiz Khurram:
  Most practice owners spend their entire career trying to build one successful practice—just one.
  Today's guest built six.
  Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, London, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Chesham.
  Three countries, two continents, and one brand.
  Dr. Alex Marques is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, trained in Brazil, completed his PhD here in the UK, and is the founder of RIT Premium Dental Care.
  In the next 30 minutes, we're going to discuss how he built six practices, what it cost him, and what advice he would give to anyone looking to scale their own practice.
  Dr. Alex, welcome to Between Patients.
  Dr. Alex Marques:
  Thank you very much, Muhammad. It's a pleasure and an honor to be here. I'm looking forward to sharing a few chapters of this exciting journey.
  Muhammad Moiz Khurram:
  The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Alex.
  Let's go back to Brazil.
  When you qualified as a dentist, what did you think your career was going to look like?
  Dr. Alex Marques:
  I graduated from dental school in 2001 and officially became licensed to practice dentistry in 2002.
  Very early in my career, I fell in love with surgery.
  I also had the privilege of joining the Military Fire Corps in Rio de Janeiro, which is an auxiliary branch of the Brazilian Army.
  Working there exposed me to outstanding clinicians and a wide variety of complex clinical cases, allowing me to grow both professionally and personally.
  I then completed my Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residency at the University of São Paulo.
  That took three years, followed by another year of advanced training in orthognathic surgery.
  Alongside that, I completed postgraduate training in implant dentistry.
  During those years, I worked part-time in the military and part-time in private practice.
  It was during this period that a close friend of mine—an orthodontist—and I decided to open our very first clinic.
  That first clinic became our baby.
  Everything started there.
  About ten years later, I moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a PhD in Biomaterials and Bone Tissue Engineering at King's College London.
  The reason was simple.
  Brazilian dentistry is extremely competitive.
  Everyone has postgraduate qualifications, master's degrees, and specialist training.
  Although I had completed multiple postgraduate programs, I still wanted to deepen my understanding of bone reconstruction and biomaterials.
  The PhD gave me the opportunity to develop critical thinking through research while expanding my clinical knowledge.
  It was an outstanding experience.
  Muhammad Moiz Khurram:
  I completely understand why the first clinic always feels like your baby.
  When you moved to the UK, was your main motivation purely academic, or were there other reasons behind the move?
  Dr. Alex Marques:
  I'm a husband and a father of two.
  My wife already had European citizenship before Brexit, which made relocating much easier.
  Throughout my career, I traveled extensively for international conferences.
  We wanted a safer environment, excellent education for our children, and the opportunity to experience different cultures across Europe.
  So our decision wasn't driven by business.
  It was mainly about education and lifestyle.
  The business opportunities came naturally afterward.
  Expanding into Europe was simply a consequence of that move.
  Muhammad Moiz Khurram:
  Earlier you mentioned how competitive Brazilian dentistry is.
  When you arrived in the UK, what surprised you most about British dentistry?
  Dr. Alex Marques:
  The biggest differences were regulations, culture, and patient expectations.
  Brazilian patients are extremely focused on aesthetics.
  Although Brazil has a public healthcare system inspired by the NHS, it doesn't provide enough dental care to fully maintain oral health.
  The NHS, on the other hand, provides excellent basic care—fillings, cleanings, extractions, and preventive treatment.
  However, it isn't designed to provide comprehensive cosmetic or advanced restorative dentistry.
  That naturally creates a different relationship between public and private dentistry.
  Muhammad Moiz Khurram:
  I completely relate.
  I used to live in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and I experienced exactly that.
  The NHS covers the basics, while private dentistry plays a major role in cosmetic and advanced treatments.
  That actually brings me to my next question.
  Earlier you described your first clinic as your baby.
  Walk me through the early days of RIT Premium Dental Care.
  How did everything begin?
  Dr. Alex Marques:
  My background is restorative dentistry and oral surgery.
  My business partner was an orthodontist.
  We started by referring patients to one another.
  Soon we realized we needed an endodontist.
  Then a periodontist.
  Then a cosmetic dentist.
  As we added specialists, we quickly outgrew our original premises and moved into a larger practice.
  That became the first RIT Premium Dental Care clinic.
  Today it has six surgeries.
  The original associates eventually became business partners and directors.
  Our culture has always been about growing together.
  Sharing ownership.<...

Season one is coming. Subscribe now so you don't miss it.

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