PEARL DENTAL SOFTWARE - Key Persons
Ben Baker - Managing Director
Ben studied Computer Science gaining a degree from the OU before taking over the family business in 2010. "I've always been a proper Maths geek," he says. "So computing seemed like the best way to go."
Since then he's expanded his interests into cultivating chilli peppers and exploring the globe.
Job Titles:
- Registered Dental Nurse and Director of Precision PR Ltd
As it happens, I'm only 5'1" at best, so I was having to stretch across her to perform suction, and I had to lean against her to reach. I apologised to her for invading her space. She replied; "Oh, you can invade my space any time Darling", at which point to she put her arm around me, pulled me tight to her and squeezed my bum!
Fortunately, the dentist I was working with is a personal friend, so he finished up her scaling very quickly after that. I'm not quite sure what he'd have done if she'd squeezed his bum too!
If you have any funny dental stories that you'd like to share, please email me at cary@precisionpr.co.uk. If we get a few good ones we'll write another blog on the same subject in a couple of months time.
For more information on Pearl Dental Software, please call on 0116 275 9995 or email us. We can't promise that our system won't prevent you from saying embarrassing things to your patients, but we guarantee an easy-to-use software system that delivers a well managed patient journey.
Charlie joined the Pearl Team back in 2022, before that he was a member of the armed forces for 8 years. He is currently the main point of contact for new prospecting practices looking to make the jump to Pearl Dental Software, guiding them from their current software to Pearl and then coming over to the practice for the installation and training.
Outside of work he enjoys a range of physical activities, from hill walking to being a regular gym goer. In his downtime he enjoys watching his favorite film franchise which is James Bond and watching football (especially Leicester City!)
Charlotte grew-up in Dubai before moving back to England to attend the University of Leicester, where she completed a BSc (hons) degree in Biology.
She enjoys relaxing in the garden, travelling, and "buying weird things on Ebay." She also claims to be very good at cooking and baking.
Charlotte's funniest support call was solved by sticky-taping a network cable into its socket because a dentist kept kicking it out. Charlotte's own dentist also uses Pearl.
Dr Otto Walkhoff, a German scientist, is credited with creating the first dental radiograph in 1896. It required a 25 minute exposure time, but thankfully, he used himself as the subject. C. Edmond Kells, a dentist from New Orleans, created some of the first practical applications. He also did a fair bit towards the understanding of the damage done by X-rays to human tissue, losing an arm and eventually dying from the effects of radiation.
Angle was one of the earliest pioneers of orthodontic treatments. He also offered one of the first training courses in Orthodontics.
His course took 6-weeks for qualified dentists to complete. He started it in his St Louis office before founding the Angle School of Orthodontia in 1900. This helped to formally establish orthodontics.
He coined the term malocclusion to refer to anomalies of tooth position and classified various abnormalities of the teeth and jaws. He also invented several appliances for their treatment (there are 46 patents in his name) and devised surgical techniques and treatments.
George Fellows Harrington's ‘Erado' clockwork dental drill. (source: BDA Museum)
In 1864, a British dentist, George Fellows Harrington in 1864 designed a clockwork mechanism to power a dental drill, named the Erado. Apparently, this was incredibly noisy, but there isn't much comment on its effectiveness.
In 1868, an American dentist named Dr George F. Green designed a pedal-powered drill, and three years later, James B. Morrison invented a burr drill in 1871 to work with it. Devices like this could run at speeds of up to about 300-rpm.
Jenny is our Accounts and Administration Manager. She joined the team late in 2022 to initially cover Charlotte whilst she went off on maternity leave becoming a permanent fixture in April 2023.
Jenny joined us from the world of Bookkeeping and Accounting, having a career spanning many years in financial management. She is loving getting her ‘teeth' into all things dentistry.
Outside of work, Jenny is married with two teenage children. She runs the local girls village cricket team, which is happily sponsored by Pearl. Obviously her kids play cricket too.
Jesse grew up in Belgium and speaks French. He joined BHA a couple of days before his birthday in May 2023. He holds two degrees: a BSc in Digital Forensics and an MA in Human Resource Management. His interest in technology is significant because he believes that everything is done digitally.
Football is Jesse's favorite sport, he used to play semi-pro. In his spare time, he loves producing music and playing his musical instruments.
Loobna made the switch from the hustle of London to the laid-back vibe of Leicester about a year ago, and it's been quite the journey! Joining Pearl Dental Software was definitely a highlight for her.
Loobna absolutely loves the work here; not only does she find it fulfilling, but it also provides her with fantastic opportunities to grow in the IT world. Loobna studied at the University of Greenwich, where she earned a degree in Business Information and Technology.
In her spare time, Loobna enjoys being creative with her ever-changing hobbies, such as digital art, crochet, and sewing.
Kingsley was a 19th-century dentist and an artist. He was also involved in the early development of orthodontic treatments, and also cleft palate therapy.
Peter Chopra started his dental business 20-years-ago, and now has four practices in Kent serving around 40,000 patients. During 2007 he implemented Pearl Dental Software from Baker Heath Associates Ltd (BHA) to support his mixed NHS/Private practice, which he continues...
RAF Halton - the current home of the RAF's Dental School
The need for improvements in oral health led to the creation of a course for dental hygienists at RAF Sidmouth in 1943. Each 16-week course trained selected Dental Surgery Attendants to scale and polish teeth, and to educate patients.
The work of these RAF hygienists helped ensure the availability of bomber crews for the latter part of the war. This was critical to the success of the infamous ‘1,000 bomber raids' over Germany's major cities, which might require as many as 8,000 pilots and aircrew to be available for duty.
Job Titles:
- Inventor of the Air - Turbine Powered Dental Handpiece
Sir John Patrick Walsh KBE - inventor of the air-turbine powered dental handpiece
Stephen joined BHA in 2015 after studying for a BSc in Physics at the University of Birmingham. Like Andy, he's also worked in the hospitality industry where he says he developed his customer service voice.
Since joining BHA he says he's learned more about dentistry than he could have possibly imagined, and relaxes by enjoying ‘Ultimate Frisbee' - a sport that he describes as, "running around outside, which makes a great contrast to an office based job!"
Asked if his Dentist uses Pearl he replied, "Alas not- working on it."
Taylor has rejoined us after completing his Computing Degree at Coventry University - he got a very well deserved first! With his degree completed, a BTEC Level 3 ICT & Networking diploma and a keen interest in tech, Taylor brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the team.
Taylor returns to Pearl with an even better video and graphics development skillset- something he started working on during his year of industry with us. If you see any of our monthly themed logos or watch our latest videos, that's all Taylor!
Taylor spends his holidays raising his BPM on Europe's biggest rollercoasters and his weekends raising others DJing in clubs around Coventry and Leicester.
The very talented Troy has a Level 4 Computing HNC and is working towards his degree.
Before joining BHA he helped his parents' business with IT issues and worked as a waiter. He enjoys playing computer game s, eating good food and driving.
After a few years of regular 6-month check-ups, Troy has persuaded his dentist to make the switch to Pearl stating, "fortunately they understand the importance of good software."
X-ray images were first created in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen, but perhaps the most famous of the early pioneering of researchers in radioactivity was Marie Curie. The work she carried out goes far beyond her Nobel prizes in Physics (1903, aged 36) and Chemistry (1911, aged 44). She was also directly involved in the development and operation of mobile radiography units to support field hospitals during World War One. The direct descendent of those units are now used in almost every dental practice across the world.