About Hitesh

My journey in dentistry began in India, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery. I moved to England in the summer of 1983 and, after passing the statutory General Dental Council examinations in 1985, joined a busy mixed NHS and private practice in West London. Over nearly ten years there I treated thousands of patients, often more than 20 a day. That pace gave me invaluable experience, but it also made me question whether I was giving my patients the care they truly deserved. It became the turning point of my career, and it shaped my belief that dentistry should focus on the whole patient, not just the presenting problem.

Determined to provide a higher standard of care, I committed myself to continuous learning: an advanced certificate course with Mike Wise, a year-long implant dentistry programme with Ashok Sethi, and the Licentiate in Dental Homeopathy, which further shaped my holistic approach. I have kept investing in postgraduate education ever since, in occlusion, functional dentistry, orthodontics and aesthetic dentistry. Alongside the clinical work I grew increasingly interested in leadership and practice management, achieving the Investors in People standard and completing an 18-month Diploma in Leadership and Management, the only dentist in my cohort to do so.

By the end of 1994 I was ready to bring my vision to life, and I founded my own practice in Hammersmith, West London. Over the next 24 years I built it into a successful multidisciplinary referral centre, bringing together a periodontist, orthodontist, oral surgeon and endodontist alongside a thriving holistic general practice. I built long relationships with families, often across generations, and became known for helping nervous and anxious patients feel at ease.

After more than two decades of ownership I sold the practice to a corporate group and remained as its Clinical Lead, supporting the team and patients through the transition. That chapter has now come to a close.

My approach has always been collaborative. As I often say:

“Jointly agreeing realistic aims at the beginning, so that we can work towards achieving these over an agreed period of time is how I feel I can really make a difference for my patients.”

Today, after more than forty years in dentistry, I am as enthusiastic about the profession as when I began. I am continuing to care for patients in the way I always have: unhurried appointments, honest explanations, prevention ahead of intervention, and decisions we reach together. Many of the families I look after have been with me for decades, and I am glad to be carrying that on.

I now see patients at UK Smile, 81 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6PE. How to book is on the contact page.

A little more

Away from dentistry I am an art lover, a reader and a theatregoer, and I enjoy cooking and keeping fit.