Australasian Dentist Magazine March April 2021

Category 90 Australasian Dentist acquisitions D uring her time as owner and principal dentist of My Smile Dental (MSD), Dr Melly Salih hardly gave herself a chance to relax. Her adherence to the golden rule of treating every patient as you would a friend or family member is a major reason. To provide the veritable personalised touch in a growing, multi-million dollar dental business, Dr Salih’s personal time ended up becoming the expendable resource. If she was attending to a patient late in the afternoon or close to the weekend, and thought there was a likelihood of post-procedural pain, Dr Salih would give the patient her personal phone number, thereby making herself available after-hours. And that’s just one example of how the high-octane practice ended up commanding all of her attention. “It is 24/7. You never really switch off. Even to this day, I’m only starting to relax a bit,” she confesses. Although Dr Salih has been slowly releasing the pressure off the pedal for some years now, she finally decided to take her foot off completely. On December 1, she sold her practice to Ekera Dental Group (Ekera), deciding it was time to move in a different direction. The milestone decision can be traced to a health issue that started about five years ago. As the result of a neck surgery, Dr Salih suffered damage to her arm tissues, which over time eroded the ability for fine movement and touch sensation in her fingers. The usually hands-on clinician had to roll back and eventually halt her surgical involvement. The idea of selling the practice had been firmly planted by then. Point of difference Having spent 35 years as a dentist, 20 of them as owner of My Smile Dental, Dr Salih has devoted the bulk of her career to making the practice the success it is. She started her entrepreneurial journey in 2000, operating My Smile Dental is in good hands A Melbourne dentist recounts the bittersweet journey building up and selling her beloved practice. By Danny Chan from rented space in a local medical centre in Sydenham. When the practice had outgrown the premises five years later, Dr Salih together with her husband, Erdem Salih, decided to construct a purpose-built surgery across the street from the centre. Better known in the industry as owner and MD of dental supplies company, Orien Group, Erdem, who has an engineering background and vast experience coordinating large-scale building projects, managed the construction of the new practice building. 1800 806 450 www.amalgadent.com.au Refer to inside front cover to see award winning Universal Adhesive Which Bond ? Feb 2021 Footer Ads.indd 2 04-Feb-21 12:18:17 PM