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Just4Dentists
Welcome to Just4Dentists — a brand new podcast that goes beyond the surgery chair to explore the real decisions that shape life in dentistry.
Hosted by Dr Ruth Baidoo, each episode features honest, in-depth conversations with dentists about what it really takes to build a career in dentistry today — from training and specialisation to income, investing, and life beyond the clinic.
After each conversation, Ruth is joined by trusted financial and business experts to unpack the money behind the story — turning lived experience into practical, real-world guidance you can actually use.
From early career choices to long-term planning, Just4Dentists is here to help you build a career — and a life — in dentistry that truly works for you.
Just4Dentists
[Spotlight] The Cost Of Specialising in Dentistry
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What does it really take to build a career in implant dentistry — and is the financial reality what you'd expect?
In this spotlight episode of Just4Dentists, Dr Ruth Baidoo shares a key moment from her conversation with implantologist Dr Anta Riekstina.
In this clip, Anta opens up about:
- Her philosophy on pricing — why she deliberately chose volume over premium fees and has never wanted to be the most expensive
- The real cost of implants and why she questions whether the most expensive systems are always worth it
- How working across six practices as a travelling specialist compares financially to owning her own — and why she now earns significantly more
It's a refreshingly honest perspective that not everyone will agree with — but one that's well worth hearing.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Just4Dentists feed for the complete conversation, including the financial expert panel with Martin Febery and Andrew Brown.
Have a question or want tailored expert advice?
📩 Email info@j4d.co.uk or visit www.j4d.co.uk
💬 Join the Just4Dentists Facebook community to continue the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/just4dentists
Presented by Dr Ruth Baidoo
Produced by Your Podcast Producer Ltd for the Just4Dentists team
Additional Information:
Dr Ruth Baidoo: https://dr-ruth-dentist.com/
Dr Anta Riekstina: https://www.854dentalhealth.com/about-us/
Just4Dentists: www.j4d.co.uk
Your Podcast Producer: www.yourpodcastproducer.com
Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal financial or legal advice. Every dentist’s career pathway and financial situation is unique; therefore, you should not rely on this content as a substitute for professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Hi, I'm Dr. Ruth Baidoo and welcome to Just4Dentists. Every fortnight I spotlight a moment from one of my recent conversations, something that's really stood out for me. In the latest episode, I spoke with Dr. Anta Riekstina about building a career as a specialist. Working across multiple locations and the financial realities of investing in further training and equipment. And to shared some very honest reflections about the cost of specialisation, the pressure to keep developing, and how flexible careers in dentistry can affect your finances. Here's a short moment from that conversation.
DR ANTA RIEKSTINAI think I'm a reasonable dentist, but I think I'm a terrible businessman. You know, when I started, I was so lucky I had my practice, I was associated in that time, and the practice owner was happy to help me with anything. And that's I'm talking now about 2008, um, 2007, 6 maybe. And she was buying, she bought me all the equipment, what I needed. And I remember we were in that time placing implants and restoring them for 1,000 pounds. And then I bought my own practice in 2008, and I moved obviously, and I in that time I kept at 1,000 pounds, and then slowly, slowly we went to 1,100 and so on and so on. But you see, I think people have a different thinking, and I guess not everybody again will agree with me, and lots of people will be judging me and not happy about it. But my thinking was that I rather do more implants for less cost, but I want to learn to do them. I want to be comfortable, I want to like do it in a reasonable speed, and so on, and so on. And up to today, I think I never I haven't charged, and now I'm working in six different LARP practices, and and none of them are charging extortion. Uh, I just never wanted to be the most expensive one, or on, and I I I never would work with the most expensive implants because I was when when I first started, I used uh implant made in Belarus and actually paid for the implant 35 American dollars. And I'm talking about the 2001, 2002. There are implants which cost you 300 pounds, and there is an implant which costs you 100 pounds, but it's the same titanium screw, you know. So so I can't justify for myself paying those extortionate amounts of money for the implant as such. And I have a few systems that I'm working with, and I have some favorites, obviously. And and I just absolutely love the simplicity behind them because in my mind it should be simple and it should be accessible as much as possible, obviously. You know that, but I know not everybody will agree with me.
DR RUTH BAIDOOI mean, people can agree to disagree. You're on the podcast today, so we're really trying to understand your perspective of things. So, from a business perspective, you said that you work in like six different practices. Am I right in thinking that?
DR ANTA RIEKSTINAYeah, yes, yeah.
DR RUTH BAIDOOSo, how is it? How does it work out for you in terms of finances? Is it better for you working as a specialist across different practices in comparison to having owned the practice before?
DR ANTA RIEKSTINAWell, 100% it's better on a monthly basis. I probably earn one and a half times more when I was working in my own practice. Because, first of all, in my own practice, I was obviously doing general dentistry as well as implantology. It's very hard for a practice to uh have a full-on like five days implantologist because then it needs to be really heavy advertisement. And and so that's why, if if you want to, well, in my opinion, if you want to be implantologist, you have to be prepared to travel. And yes, my week is crazy because I really travel a lot.
DR RUTH BAIDOOYou can hear Anta's full story on the main Just for Dentist feed where we explore how her career has evolved and the lessons she's learned along the way. After the interview, I'm also joined by our financial experts who discuss how dentists can plan for specialist careers, manage changing income, and think long term even when their work in pattern shift. And don't forget, you can join the conversation in our Just for Dentists Facebook community to connect with all the other dentists navigating similar pathways. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode of Just for Dentists.