Irish Dentistry Awards / February 6, 2021

Entry date extended for Irish Dentistry Awards 2021

The Irish Dentistry Awards announces the latest plans for entering as well as fresh details for the much-loved ceremony.

In light of the situation regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to postpone the date of the 2021 Irish Dentistry Awards ceremony. Originally planned for 6 March, the ceremony will now take place in the early summer, once restrictions have hopefully lessened and we can come together to celebrate the dedication and devotion of the profession. And, after the year we’ve had, what a celebration they will be!

We are also delighted to announce that the entry date for this year’s Irish Dentistry Awards has been extended. You now have until 9 April to submit your entries.

High standards

The Irish Dentistry Awards are now in their 10th year, and are well known in Ireland for celebrating the hard work and achievements of dental professionals across the nation.

Winning an Irish Dentistry Award has the potential to reap huge rewards for you, your team and your practice – and provides patients as well as staff definitive evidence that they are being cared for by a truly exceptional practice: it is a high-calibre acknowledgement of the highest standards in dentistry.

The Irish Dentistry Awards are judged by a team of dental leaders and industry experts, which means they are unmatched in their clinical and technical merit.

Working categories

The 2021 Irish Dentistry Awards
categories are:

Best New Practice
Most Attractive Practice
Most Improved Practice
Best Child Friendly Practice
Best Community/Charity Project
Best Team
Most Invaluable Team Member
Best Employer
Best Patient Care
Best Referral Practice
Best High Technology Practice
Best Treatment of Nervous Patients
Irish Dentistry’s Rising Star
Practice of the Year.

The full details of all the categories can be found below. Read the criteria carefully before deciding which award to enter. Once you’ve picked your categories, simply visit the dedicated website (which can be found at www.irishdentistryawards.com) to register your free entry.

Next comes the exciting part: start preparing your entry! Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to compile your entry – or seek out an expert to help.

For each category, send up to 750 words explaining why your practice, or your team, is a contender, using the guidelines provided.

Remember, our judges can only critique what’s sent in, so be sure you provide as much clinical evidence, imagery and supporting documentation (such as patient and team testimonials) as you can.

Entries must be submitted by Friday 9 April 2021.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2021 Irish Dentistry Award categories.

Best New Practice

Have you started a practice from scratch or completely reinvented a redundant building? We want to reward the best developers and creators who have made significant progress in their business in a short space of time. Your practice must have opened after 1 January 2019.

In your entry, you must:

Provide images/videos of the new practice, including before and after pictures if appropriate
Show evidence of uniqueness in your practice
Explain how the business has grown since it opened
Include marketing literature
Provide team training/development information
Give evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Tell us how you connect with the local community
Provide testimonials and marketing literature.

Most Attractive Practice

Is good design important to your practice? Do you have unique features that stand out among the rest? Do your patients comment on the look and feel of your practice? If you’ve put in hard work to make your practice look the part and put your patients at ease during their visit, show it off and get the recognition you deserve!

In your entry, you must:

Send before and after pictures if appropriate
Show any unique features, architecture, interior design excellence
Explain your aims and objectives behind the look and design of the practice and what effect you were trying to achieve
Show how your marketing, social media and website has been used to show off your practice and its design
Provide marketing literature.

Most Improved Practice

Has your practice developed in the last year? Whether your practice is relatively new or well-established, show us how you have improved business growth, patient referrals and developed a great team approach.

In your entry, you must:

Send before and after pictures, if appropriate
Explain how business has grown
Demonstrate good team atmosphere, training and development
Show us how your social media use and/or website has been improved
Include marketing literature
Provide evidence of how you have improved your practice over the past year
Include testimonials and supporting documentation.

Best Child Friendly Practice

Can you demonstrate a great team approach to child dental health in your practice? Show us how you provide an innovative, excellent child friendly practice to get the recognition your practice deserves.

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate your approach to child dental health
Show how you are different to a regular practice
Explain how do you got involved in treating children and how this impacts their experience
Demonstrate how you use your social media and website to promote child dental health
Provide testimonials, marketing examples, supporting evidence and pictures.

Best Community/Charity Project

Is your practice actively involved in a charity or community project? Show us how you helped and what you were able to achieve.

In your entry, you must:

Describe your charitable project and its cause
Explain why you support your chosen cause
Describe how you have helped to raise awareness to support the charity
Show the benefits derived from your work
Provide testimonials, marketing examples, supporting evidence and pictures.

Best Team

Is your team special and is it time they should be recognised for their efforts? Do you have a great group of individuals creating a positive working atmosphere and supporting each other to enhance team performance? Give your staff the acknowledgement they deserve.

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate a great team atmosphere and approach to patient care
Explain how your practice invests in team development and training
Detail how your team is different to others
Show how your team goes above and beyond the regular duty of care
Include supporting evidence (eg, testimonials).

Most Invaluable Team Member

Does a member of your team deserve recognition for their achievements? Demonstrate how your team member’s hard work and drive have gone that extra mile and give them the praise they deserve. This category is open to team members including dental nurses, hygienists, therapists, practice managers, receptionists and technicians.

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate hard work and drive
Tell the judges of anything outstanding they have done or been involved in
Explain any hurdles they have overcome
Show us how/why they are different to others
Tell us how they go beyond the regular duty of care
Include any evidence of connection with a charity or the local community
Provide testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Best Employer

Does your employer go out of their way to provide a happy and safe working environment and invest in their team? Demonstrate your employer’s commitment to the practice, its staff and patients.

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate a great team atmosphere
Give evidence of team investment/training
Demonstrate your employer’s kindness/consideration
Show the effect their efforts have on the team
Show where they go beyond the regular duty of care for the staff
Provide testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Best Patient Care

How do you care for your patients? Do you get a lot of recommendations? If you offer the highest standards of care and courtesy throughout a patient’s experience, provide us with patient testimonials to support your entry and get the recognition you deserve.

In your entry, you must:

Provide clinical evidence
Demonstrate your approach to patient care
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Show how you are different to a regular practice
Provide testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures
Provide marketing examples.

Best Referral Practice

Tell us why your endodontic/orthodontic/implant/periodontal/aesthetic practice has loyal referrers who support you due to your clinic excellence. Demonstrate your high clinical standard and ethical practice with supporting testimonials.

In your entry, you must:

Show evidence of training undertaken to enhance knowledge in your speciality
Show evidence of relationships with industry partners and referring colleagues
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Present evidence of team leadership and uniqueness in your practice
Provide supporting evidence (clinical details, testimonials, marketing, and pictures).

Best High Technology Practice

This category is designed to recognise practices embracing the latest digital technologies available to improve clinical outcomes. This category will recognise those using digital workflows to provide high levels of patient care.

In your entry, you must:

Explain what latest digital technologies you have invested in and why
Show how you have successfully integrated these advances into your practice
Explain how its use has improved the patient experience
Show evidence of the benefits and profitability you are now seeing
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Best Treatment of Nervous Patients

Do you have strong approach to treating nervous patients? Do you go above and beyond to help patients to relax and feel more comfortable?

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate your approach to treating nervous patients
Show how you are different to regular practices
Explain how you got involved in treating nervous patients
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Explain the impact on the patient experience
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials and marketing examples, as well as supporting evidence and pictures.

Irish Dentistry’s Rising Star

We are looking to reward a newly-qualified dental professional under 35 (at the time of entering). Someone who has shown significant achievement in their career to date or who continues to exhibit passion, drive and attainment. Tell us about your achievements and get the recognition you deserve.

In your entry, you must:

Demonstrate your hard work and drive
Show achievement in your career to date
Explain any hurdles you have overcome
Detail how you are different to other young dental professionals
Provide training/development information
Give evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Practice of the Year

For this regionally-judged award, we are looking to reward those practices that stand out from the crowd. Those who truly care for the patients and are dedicated to providing the best in oral healthcare. Are you one of them?

In your entry, you must:

Include marketing literature
Give evidence of a great team atmosphere and training/development
Show any achievements or developments in your practice over the last 12 months
Evidence of uniqueness or significant investment in your practice
Show how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

The Irish Dentistry Awards ceremony is planned to take place during the summer in Dublin.

More details can be found at www.irishdentistryawards.com.

Alternatively, call the awards team on +44 (0) 1923 851779 or email awards@fmc.co.uk.

This article first appeared in Irish Dentistry magazine. You can read the latest issue here.