Ronel Van Der Spuy | Dental Practice Consultant

The reality

You were trained to treat patients. Not to run a business.

Most principals are excellent clinicians running a business they were never prepared to manage. Dental school teaches you to treat patients well. It does not teach you to design a reception system, write a staff protocol, manage a diary, or build the kind of KPI framework that tells you clearly what is working.

So things get patched together. Problems get fixed personally because it is faster than building a process. The practice grows, the patches multiply, and somewhere along the way the principal becomes the glue holding everything together — working evenings and weekends to keep things running.

But the reality is, that is not a failing. It is a systems gap. And it is fixable.

The right systems change this. I have built them, and I know what works.

"The practice grows. The patches multiply. The principal becomes the glue holding everything together."

A pattern seen consistently across independent practices in the UK

What I do

Building the non-clinical foundation

I work with independent principals to build the systems that allow a practice to function without depending on the principal's constant presence. Not theory — practical, documented processes that your team can follow and that you can hand over with confidence.

I have done this myself. I co-founded a practice in 1997, built it from nothing, converted it from NHS to private, and exited cleanly in 2019. The systems I help principals build today are the same ones that made that exit possible.

Reception & diary systems

Documented protocols for patient enquiries, diary management, and new patient conversion. The standard stops depending on whoever happens to answer the phone.

Staff onboarding

A structured process for bringing new team members up to speed consistently. No more relying on whoever has time to show them the ropes — and hoping they do it right.

Patient experience

A defined standard at every touchpoint, from the first call to post-treatment follow-up. Built into how the practice operates, not carried by individual personalities.

KPI frameworks

The right metrics, tracked on the right schedule. So you can see clearly what is working, what is not, and where to focus — without guesswork or relying on a gut feel.

The result is a practice that runs on process, not on the principal personally — one that is easier to manage, more consistent for patients, and significantly more valuable if you ever want to step back or sell.

Ronel Van Der Spuy Dental Practice Consultant · 29 years in the industry

About Ronel

29 years in dentistry. Built it, ran it, sold it.

In 1997, my husband and I opened a squat dental practice in Newbury. We bought a building, refurbished it, and opened as an NHS practice. The first day the phones went live, the answerphone blew up. We very quickly needed a second surgery.

When the NHS changed to UDAs in 2005, we made the decision to convert to private and launched our own membership plan so patients could spread the cost of routine care. That model carried us through the 2008 financial crisis with books that stayed more than 80% full, and through COVID, when we closed the door not knowing when we would open again.

We exited in 2019. Cleanly, on our terms. The systems we had built made that possible.

Read the full story

Who I work with

Principals who are ready to fix the foundation.

I work with a small number of independent dental practice principals at a time. The work is always thorough and the relationship is always direct. If any of the following sounds familiar, it is worth a conversation.

You have a capable team but no clear systems to back them up
You are thinking about growth, or beginning to step back from the chair
You are considering an eventual exit and know the current foundation will not support it
You are working evenings and weekends to keep things running, and you want that to stop

If that is you, the right starting point is a conversation.

Not sure if this applies to you?

A discovery call is 30 minutes. No charge, no obligation. We look at where your practice is operationally and whether it makes sense to work together.

Book a 30-minute call

Start here

Start with a conversation.

A 30-minute call. No charge, no obligation. We look at where your practice is operationally, what the gap looks like, and whether working together makes sense.

If it does not, you leave with a clearer picture of where to focus.

Book a 30-minute call

I respond within one working day.

Get in touch

Let's talk about your practice.

Fill in the form and I will be in touch within one working day. Or email me directly if you would prefer.

Phone +44 7796 335345

Email ronelvanderspuy@btinternet.com

Address Nuttington, Stoney Lane
Thatcham, RG18 9HQ, UK

Your practice should run without you holding it together.