Over the moon! Ambrish Roshan on winning an Irish Dentistry Award

Ambrish Roshan opens up about his career journey, his goals, and that all-important Irish Dentistry Awards win

Why did you choose dentistry as a career path?

Growing up in Singapore in an Indian-Pakistani family, my sister and I were always ‘encouraged’ to pursue a career in medicine, dentistry or law to fulfil the stereotype and ‘parental persuasion’. As the elder sibling, I was initially aiming for medical school, while my sister agreed she would go into dentistry (because God forbid, we both became doctors). However, as I got closer to applying for university it became more apparent that my interest in healthcare, the ability to fulfil my love of anything involving manual dexterity, in addition to the promise of a good work-life balance to have time for family and friends, pushed me towards dentistry. 

Naturally, I robbed the spot of the dentist in the family from my sister who took one for the team and journeyed into medicine.

Tell us about your career journey so far

I graduated from Trinity College Dublin and the Dublin Dental University Hospital in 2016, which honestly does not feel that long ago! 

I went straight into private practice in a rural town in the Republic of Ireland. I was fortunate to be in a practice where my principal dentist was very supportive and prioritised quality ethical dentistry over profiteering from an associate. However, the two-to-three-hour, five-days-a-week daily commute eventually took its toll and so my wife and I decided to move from Dublin to the (sunny) south east of the country where I joined a well-established family dental practice. While working here, I expanded my skill set by undertaking a two-year diploma in implant dentistry in London as well as training to be a comprehensive Invisalign provider. 

I was subsequently offered a position in a state-of-the-art dental practice in the heart of Dublin City where I currently practise my dentistry and work with a group of talented specialists and clinicians who continue to inspire me and elevate my dentistry.

I attribute a vast majority of my professional growth in dentistry to not only the individuals around me, but also to the medium of photography. I was fortunate to have a basic understanding of photography, and a camera set up for dentistry very early on as a dental student. I do believe that we are our best and most honest critic of ourselves and looking back over photographs of the dentistry I was producing from my student days right up to today has allowed me to be self-critical and continually improve on my dentistry by reflecting on past cases. 

In photographing my dental work, I decided to brave Instagram with a professional dental account to have a platform to share my work and become vulnerable to the potential criticism from peers. It has been an incredible platform for me to connect and eventually meet with many likeminded individuals from across the globe. It has also serendipitously opened doors for me that I never knew existed. 

After a few years of being active, I was approached by Ivoclar through Instagram and was invited to be a Young Opinion Leader for them in 2020. I have since run several courses and spoken for Ivoclar nationally as their certified trainer and opinion leader in the field of composite dentistry. 

Today, I run my own minimally invasive aesthetic dental courses in Dublin, covering topics from tooth whitening, dental photography, digital smile design and techniques to improve the aesthetics of our patients in particular composite bonding and white patch treatments using resin infiltration.

I was subsequently approached by Oral-B to be their Irish brand ambassador and have been working closely with them to promote the importance of maintaining good oral health for the nation. This opened yet another fun aspect of my career by appearing on national television to discuss various topics around oral health, dental tourism and the rise of cosmetic dentistry in Ireland.

I feel blessed to be doing all that I do; working in practice in Dublin, Cavan and Belfast, helping patients attain their dream smiles, teaching my workflows to like-minded clinicians and even having some time for fun projects to keep me mentally stimulated.

What are your favourite aspects of dentistry?

The interactions I have with my patients will have to be my favourite part of my job!

Clinically, I really enjoy treatment planning cases, working as the quarterback to get patients into optimal dental health before ultimately giving them the new smile that they long for. 

Smile makeovers using either composite resin or porcelain are my absolute favourite procedures. Seeing the transformation in not only patients’ smile but also their overall self-confidence fills me with so much joy.

And your least favourite?

Paediatric dentistry! I love kids, don’t get me wrong, but glad that I don’t have to treat them!

How did if feel to win Young Dentist at the 2024 Irish Dentistry Awards?

Absolutely over the moon! It is probably my biggest career achievement to date – and even better that I am still considered ‘young’!

What are your top tips for anyone thinking of entering dental awards?

Definitely do it! It motivates you to perform the best level of dentistry for your patients and keeps the excitement of dentistry alive!

What are your plans for the next five years? 

Professionally, if I can continue doing what I am doing right now, I will be very happy. I take every day as it comes and feel thankful that I can do what I do to help those in my path. 

I want to continue developing my skill set, strengthening my foundational dentistry and continue to learn from dental leaders around the world. I want to do more teaching and international speaking to widen my network of dental peers. But ultimately, take each day as it comes!

Personally, my family is everything to me and has supported my career so I want to be the best husband, son and brother I can. We have a little one on the way whom we will be meeting in the new year, and I want to be fully present for him/her.

How do you maintain a good work-life balance?

To be completely honest, it could be a lot better. I definitely spend too much time on dentistry, be it in practice, planning my cases, working on presentations, the logistics and running of my courses!

I am fortunate to have family and friends who are always present to soundboard anything off regardless of the time of day, or day of the week! Having a strong support network and many groups of friends (outside of dental peers) helps me realise that there is so much more to life than dentistry.

I have recently started trying to keep to an exercise routine and improve my diet with the help of a personal trainer. Dentistry can be a very tough job, mentally and physically, so I believe that keeping both mind and body healthy will certainly help with the longevity of this career. 

I believe that taking time off regularly is crucial to recharge and avoid burnout in our profession – so plenty of holidays is a necessity!

Who is your inspiration?

In life, my parents – the way they have nurtured my sister and I to become the people we are today, along with the patience, care and love they have for each other inspires me to do the same with my own family.

In my early career, my mentors Rory Boyd, Slaine McGrath and David Murnaghan who gave me some great advice on jobs, training pathways as well as interacting and communicating with patients. 

My previous practice principals, Laura McAtarsney and Robin Foyle who supported my decisions to diversify my skill set and introduce new concepts to their clinics. 

My current principals Danny Collins and Gregg Barry who are dedicated to keeping up with the latest innovative technology in dentistry and integrating these into our daily workflow in the clinic.

Lastly, many, many talented clinicians around the UK and the rest of the world whom I have connected with via social media who continue to push the limits of materials and techniques to primarily deliver the best for our patients.