On Friday evening, Dr. Promod and his team will travel to London for the Private Dentistry Awards 2023. They are finalists for five prestigious awards: Practice of the Year, Best New Practice, Team of the Year, Practice Principal – Dr Promod, and Practice Design & Brand.
But how did this new practice, opened just eight months ago, come into existence? In honour of the Private Dentistry Awards and of the team at Alban City Dental, we thought it only fitting to share the story of our Clinical Director, Dr Prakash Promod.
Dr Promod’s personal journey, shaped by unexpected turns and acts of kindness from people along the way, is a narrative woven with resilience, faith, humility, and unwavering commitment to his calling.
Prakash spent most of his childhood in India, growing up as part of a family of doctors. When he was two years old, he told his mum that, one day, he would be a head surgeon. His father’s work as a gynaecologist pursuing Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology qualifications and training took the family from Kerala to Iran and then to Blackpool and back to Kerala again. When it was time to choose his career path, he decided to study dentistry at Manipal University.
He qualified as a dentist in 2000, and spent the next years working in the community dental and maxillofacial departments of the university teaching hospital. He would travel to villages in India, providing free dental care to patients, some of whom had never been treated by a dentist. Some days, he would extract as many as 100 teeth.
During this time, he had the opportunity to observe a bimaxillary osteotomy by Mr Ken Sneddon, a maxillofacial surgeon from East Grinstead Hospital, the birthplace of facial plastic surgery. He performed the surgery in 1 hour and 14 minutes – a procedure that would normally take local surgeons 6-8 hours to complete. It was in that moment that Prakash was inspired to train as a maxillofacial surgeon in the UK.
Training as a maxillofacial surgeon meant that Prakash also needed to earn a degree in medicine. His family were unsure if it was wise to travel so far from home, at great expense, without any guarantee of success as a dental graduate from India.
They received a sign in the form of Reverend John Weir, a Vicar from Bethnal Green. He had travelled to India and spoke at Prakash’s local church. Prakash introduced himself after the service and said that he hoped to travel to England to study Medicine. Mr Weir replied, “Well, if that’s what you’ve been called by God to do, then you must do it. Call me when you reach England if you need anything.” Upon hearing this, his parents gave him their blessing to go.
When Prakash first arrived in England in 2003 he was put up by his uncle Dr Sam Arthur at their family home in Kendal, the Lake District. It was in Kendal that he first met Sarah Lee who was a newly qualified dentist at the time working her way to specialty training in Orthodontics. Little did he realise then that their paths would cross again in multiple hospital jobs and later at Alban City Dental.
Prakash’s journey to his first job in the UK as an overseas qualified dentist wishing to train in maxillofacial surgery was a difficult one. He posted 206 CVs, each with a hand-written cover letter, to nearly every maxillofacial department in the England, Scotland and Wales, offering to work for free as an honorary clinical attachment. He received 206 letters of rejection, due to his lack of UK experience.
When he had nearly run out of money and was starting to think it was probably best to return to India, he travelled to London to attend a conference held by the Junior Trainees Group of the British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. As he was making his way to his seat, he accidentally trod on the toe of none other than Peter Ward-Booth, who he instantly recognised as the author of one of the Maxillofacial Surgery textbooks he had studied in India.
Following the conference, he emailed Mr Ward-Booth to apologise for stepping on his foot and to express what an honour it was to meet him in person. He asked if there were any opportunities to work with him in an honorary capacity.
Before he left London after the conference, he stopped by Bethnal Green to visit Reverend Weir, the priest whom he had met before leaving India. When the priest opened the door, he instantly recognised him and was overcome with emotion. He said that he had been waiting for a miracle from God all day and Prakash was the miracle. It was the Harvest Festival at Church and he didn’t know what message God intended for him to share with his congregation. He invited Prakash to join in the service and preached about the importance of planting seeds. He said, “The word of God is a seed. Several years ago, I said something to this young man that planted a seed. That seed has borne fruit and now Prakash is here with us today.”
That was also a sign for Prakash not to give up on his dream to study medicine in England.
A week later, he received an email response from Peter Ward-Booth, offering him an honorary clinical attachment at East Grinstead Hospital in a month’s time.
On his way to East Grinstead, he received a voicemail, informing him that there was a mix-up with the dates of the placement: his role didn’t actually start for another 12 months. He decided to travel there anyway, walking into the medical staffing department with his suitcase in hand. He explained the mix-up and asked if there was anything they could do, but he was told that, unfortunately, he would have to return the following year. He asked if he could have a tour of the hospital before he left, knowing that it might be the last time he would get the chance to see this hospital made famous by the pioneering work of Sir Archibald McIndoe during World War II and where several of the textbooks of maxillofacial surgery he had read in India had been written.
A junior doctor showed him around East Grinstead. As they were nearing the end of the tour, he said, “If you have a chance, speak to Mr Ken Lavery (who was the Head of Department) and ask him if there’s anything he can do.” As it happened, Mr Lavery was walking out of the operating theatre at that exact moment. Prakash introduced himself, explained that he had arrived for his honorary clinical attachment only to find out that it was a year early and asked if there were any other honorary roles available. Fifteen minutes later, he received a phone call from medical staffing, offering him an immediate position as an honorary observer.
Unfortunately, hospital accommodation (which was usually available at a subsidised rate) was completely full and staying at a local bed and breakfast would quickly deplete whatever savings he had left. He called Reverend Weir, who put him in touch with the Vicar at St Swithun’s church in East Grinstead. A few minutes later he got a call back saying that the nuns at St Margaret’s Convent had kindly offered him a room to stay for two weeks until hospital accommodation became available.
During the early days of his honorary observership, to save money, Prakash lived off of a baked potato (which used to cost £1) a day. The women who worked in the hospital canteen quickly realised that he was working unpaid and had very little money and starting saving food for him. They would set food aside and say, “It’s nearly closing time. You should take this, or else we’ll have to throw it away.”
Two months later, Dr. Ajit Kurian joined East Grinstead. Ajit was in a paid role, during holidays from medical school. When he realised that Prakash also planned to attend medical school, but was in an unpaid, observer role, he took him under his wing. From that point on, Ajit paid for all of Prakash’s meals, making sure they always ate well.
At the end of his observership, Prakash obtained his first paid role in maxillofacial surgery at a hospital in Chichester, with the help of a recommendation from none other than Peter Ward-Booth. The department at East Grinstead welcomed him back to join them again a year later when a paid post became available and have supported him throughout his career.
It was during his time at East Grinstead and Chichester hospitals that Prakash started placing dental implants, primarily for trauma & cancer patients and also learned advanced implant surgery and grafting techniques in the private sector under the guidance of Mr Ken Lavery. His first implant in practice was in 2006 for his dental-phobic elder brother, who having had a bad experience many years ago, would only trust his brother with his smile. That implant is still going strong!
As his experience grew, he started placing dental implants in private dental practices across London and Essex to raise funds for medical school. When he’d saved enough money, he applied to medical school and successfully obtained a place at Barts in London.
During this time, he also married and celebrated the birth of his daughter.
Prakash finished medical school in 2010. He completed one year of Foundation training in general surgery, orthopaedics and general medicine at Lister Hospital, in Stevenage. He then completed two years of core surgical training in general surgery, orthopaedics and plastic surgery at Harlow, Broomfield and Addenbrookes hospitals.
During this time, he went through divorce and took a path that surprised many of his colleagues – he reduced his hours at work and stopped doing on-calls so that he could share care of his daughter with his ex-wife and prioritise being a father over being a doctor on call.
As he adjusted to this new stage of life, he took on a part time role doing locum consultant maxillofacial surgeon lists at Ashford Hospital in Kent and then worked in the maxillofacial department at Milton Keynes Hospital. In 2014, he found love for a second time and married later that year. When his wife became pregnant, he accompanied her to The Royal Free Hospital in Barnet for their first scan. As he walked through the lobby, he was spotted by a former classmate who encouraged him to apply for a role in the hospital’s maxillofacial department. He jumped at the opportunity to work closer to home (St Albans). His interview took place nine hours after the birth of his son and, thankfully, he was offered the position!
During his time at the Royal Free, he performed a wide range of surgical procedures, including skin cancer reconstruction, fixing broken jaws and treating facial trauma. He often treated patients who had experienced complications following dental or facial aesthetic procedures from around London and abroad – from infected teeth, to failed dental implants to adverse reactions from facial fillers.
By 2022, he had placed several thousand dental implants and extracted tens of thousands of teeth.
One morning, he was scrolling through his Instagram feed and saw a post from Nimsdai Purja, the Nepali mountaineer, former Gurkha and British Special Forces soldier who gained international recognition for summitting all 14 of the world’s highest peaks in just six months and six days (14 Peaks, Netflix).
Nimsdai was suffering from intense pain from a wisdom tooth and was unable to find a dentist who could remove it.
Prakash mentioned this to his wife who encouraged him to DM Nimsdai. “Just message him and offer to help him,” she said. “You have nothing to lose. You know you can help him.”
Prakash messaged Nimsdai and, shortly thereafter, received a reply from his wife. She explained that Nimsdai had been told by several dentists that it would be impossible to extract his wisdom tooth outside of a hospital setting and that he would have to be under general anaesthetic. Prakash reassured her, “I have extracted thousands of teeth in my career. If he can open his mouth, I can take out his tooth.”
Nimsdai travelled to a London dental practice that Prakash frequented a few days later and, in less than a minute, Prakash removed his troublesome tooth.
While he was there, Nimsdai asked, “What’s your story, brother?” Prakash explained how he had come to be in England and the story of his career. Nimsdai said, “You should have your own place. You need to believe it and make it happen. It will happen. Don’t worry about anything else. You do it and people will come to you.”
Three days later, Nimsdai climbed Mont Blanc.
That conversation stuck in Prakash’s mind and the seed had been planted to open his own private practice. The following month, he received an email from 24 Hall Place Gardens, where he was renting a consulting room, explaining that they would be closing. He told his wife that he would need to find new premises in St Albans and his wife suggested, “Why don’t you email the owners and ask if you could rent the clinic?”
The rest is history, and the Elms Consulting Rooms were transformed into Alban City Dental & Surgical Centre.
Should you choose to visit Dr Promod and the team at Alban City Dental & Surgical Centre, located in the heart of St Albans, you can expect an unparalleled journey marked by excellence, compassion and a commitment to your well-being that has been 23 years in the making.
As we celebrate our nomination for multiple awards at the Private Dentistry Awards 2023, it is a testament to our dedication to providing top-tier dental and surgical services.
Dr Promod’s multifaceted expertise, encompassing dentistry, medicine, and surgery, ensures that you receive comprehensive and integrated care. The practice’s state-of-the-art facilities and a specialised team are dedicated to offering a wide spectrum of services, including dental implants, orthodontics, Invisalign®, root canal treatments, dermatology, and various surgical procedures.
At Alban City Dental, your well-being is not just our commitment; it’s our calling. Book an appointment with us today, and please wish us luck this Friday at the Private Dentistry Awards!
