Irish Dentistry Awards / March 25, 2024

Irish Dentistry Awards 2024: ready for launch

The Irish Dentistry Awards 2024 have lift off! Here’s everything you need to know, including categories, criteria and how to enter.

The Irish Dentistry Awards are back!

Since their inception 13 years ago, the Irish Dentistry Awards have gone from strength to strength – and this year promises to be the best yet.

The categories open for entry have been refined and revitalised to mirror the dentistry being performed across the Republic and Northern Ireland.

And that’s not the only change! After some time away, this year’s ceremony will return to the much-loved The Round Room at The Mansion House, Dublin.

The Irish Dentistry Awards will take place on the evening of Saturday 7 September, following the Irish Dentistry Show at RDS Dublin. The ceremony has fully established itself as a prestigious occasion, recognising and rewarding dental excellence throughout Ireland.

The categories

With 16 categories to choose from, there’s sure to be something for everyone!

This year’s Irish Dentistry Awards categories are:

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

As any previous entrant will tell you, entering the Irish Dentistry Awards should not be taken lightly, but has the potential to reap huge rewards for you, your team and your practice.

How to enter

Entering this year’s Irish Dentistry Awards could not be easier. In an effort to simplify the process, there is only one way to submit your entry and that’s through our online platform.

To enter, the first thing you need to do is visit the dedicated Irish Dentistry Awards website at dentistry.co.uk/awards/irish-dentistry-awards and click on ‘Enter Now’. Next, add your details and select your categories.

Once your entry is complete, complete the online form and then upload your entry.

Entries have to be submitted by Wednesday 3 July 2024 to be accepted by the judges.

Below, we’ve detailed the criteria for each of the 2024 categories. To give yourself the best chance of winning, send up to 750 words and be sure to include all the judging criteria in each category.

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 2023.

Practices should enter either New Practice or Most Improved Practice, a practice cannot qualify for both.

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
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

This is a great chance to demonstrate how you have developed your practice in the last year. A practice entering this category will have been through a refurbishment, seen significant changes or upgrades covering decor, equipment etc. Show us how you have improved business growth, patient referrals and developed a great team approach.

Practices should enter either New Practice or Most Improved Practice, a practice cannot qualify for both.

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 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.

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 you got involved in treating children and tell us 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.

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.

Team of the Year

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 the competition
Show how your team goes above and beyond the regular duty of care
Provide testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Most Invaluable Team Member

Do you think a member of your team deserves 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
Show us how or why they are different to others
Explain any hurdles they have overcome
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.

Employer of the Year

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 your team
Show where they go beyond the regular duty of care for the staff
Provide testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

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

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 clinical evidence, testimonials, marketing collateral, supporting evidence and pictures.

High Technology Practice

This category is designed to recognise practices embracing the latest digital technologies available to improve clinical outcomes. This category will recognise the practice using digital workflows to provide the highest 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.

Treatment of Nervous Patients

Do you have a 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 a regular practice
Explain how you got involved in treating nervous patients
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Explain how this impacts the patient experience
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials and marketing examples, as well as supporting evidence and pictures.

Young Dentist

This category is open to those born on or after 31 October 1988. Send up to 750 words explaining why you are a contender for this award through the following:

Show achievement in your career to date
Detail any hurdles you have overcome
Show how you are different to other young dentists within your achievements, your academia, patient management and care
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Demonstrate your hard work and drive
Explain how you are involved with the local community or a charity
Show marketing literature, if relevant
Provide training/development information
Provide patient and colleague testimonials
Include an image of the dentist.

Irish Dentistry’s Rising Star Award

We are looking to reward a newly-qualified dental professional under 35 (at the time of entering) who has shown significant achievement in their career to date or who continues to exhibit passion, drive and attainment. Have you achieved a lot already? Tell us about it 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, if relevant
Give evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of care
Provide clinical evidence, testimonials, supporting evidence and pictures.

Dental Laboratory of the Year

Simply send up to 750 words explaining why your laboratory should win this award. Labs that are part of a group must enter each lab site separately.

Consider the following:

Highlight how you maintain consistent high standards of work throughout the laboratory
Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of client care
Describe how the team is led
Show how you keep the team happy
Demonstrate how you connect with the local community
Include examples of technical excellence
Include pictures of the laboratory and team
Include relevant videos if possible
Show your marketing plan and demonstrate its effectiveness
Give evidence of investment and development in your lab and your team
Include a few relevant testimonials
Financial progress: is the lab successful and viable?

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?

To enter Practice of the Year, you must have entered at least one other category.

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
Provide 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.