Dr Joanna Brzóska and Dr. Joanna Kisiel initially started working together in a dental clinic in 2006. Yet soon it became clear that what they needed is more independence and freedom to make their own decisions. The only way to achieve this was to open their own clinic together.
BEGINNING OF A NEW STORY
When we started planning our new clinic, our main idea was to create a perfect place for us – one which would fulfill all our professional needs. A little bit of a ‘dream place’ if you may. It is very important for us to have our independence and be able to decide what we want to do and how.
We opened the clinic in December 2012, starting with a very simple treatment offer and a plan to gradually add more to this offer. Now we do endodontics, orthodontics, microsurgery treatments and re-sections, cosmetic treatments, and prosthetics. So actually, we have entire families coming to us together.
In the beginning it was really hard work – it was just the two of us, assisting each other from morning until late evening. But even if it was tiring, it was a great time of learning and bonding for us. We really learned a lot about each other’s work style and exchanged many helpful tricks and tips. I showed her more about extractions, and she taught me about cosmetic treatments.
It was a tough beginning and we didn’t want to sacrifice on any initial investments – our location and equipment is quite premium – but it all paid off in the end. Now we have a small ‘girl power’ team comprised of us two and our assistants.
INTRODUCING A CLINIC TO A BIG CITY
Since we were opening our own place without help from previous employments or the usual possibility of bringing our previous patients with us, we had to choose whether to spread the news through word of mouth or a good online strategy. Since Gdynia is a big city and word of mouth doesn’t work as well as in smaller places, we decided to go with online marketing. Even before the clinic was ready, we had a working website with good positioning in Google. We also have a Facebook page that is gaining momentum – so we can start relying on the community around us as well.
XO CARE UNITS WERE…JUST PERFECT
As you can see, the unit is a central piece of our treatment room here in Gdynia, so we paid double attention to the process of choosing one.
It had to look great but also be well-suited for work for both me and my colleague.
One of the reasons we wanted to leave our previous clinic was the fact that it was quite hard for both of us to work on the same unit – one of us is taller than the other. XO units are perfect for us. We used to have many issues with strains and injuries from working, so naturally we decided to introduce more ergonomics into our workflow. And, we were happy to learn that working with XO units is all about ergonomics. Not only are the parts sturdy but you can also work with a lying patient or move the lamp into any position, be it in front or behind the head. The XO light is also very powerful – sometimes we play with it and shine some light on the ships that you can see here from the window.
Of course, working ergonomically is not enough – we still pay a lot of attention to physical exercise after work.
Another important element for us is the patient’s comfort. We went together to a dental fair and simply lay down on all possible dental chairs – and here again XO FLEX was a clear winner. It is extremely comfortable for the patient.
THE FUTURE IS AMBITIOUS!
We would like to have a bigger clinic with a second treatment room. We are quite ambitious, and the next step is to invest in a CT scanner and printer for crowns – so we will become our own technicians and be even more independent.
Now we are starting to discover the areas of dentistry we truly love – aesthetic dentistry, surgery, and endodontics. This is what really drives us, but it also helps us develop and introduce new knowledge to our daily work. For us, education never stops.
In general, though, we are really happy with what we have at the moment. As the old saying goes, ‘nothing worth having comes easy’. But now we can see the fruits of all our hard work.