By Danny Chan
Six years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Pervinder Kaur, a dynamic NSW dentist and entrepreneur. At the time, Dr Kaur had just set up the second branch of Minto Family Dental, then an up-and-coming practice she founded just a year prior.
It was particularly memorable as I had never, or since, spoken to someone as enthusiastic about a dental chair purchase. Dr Kaur had just bought her second Diplomat DA 370 model dental chair from Australia’s lone manufacturer of dental units, William Green. She had purchased the same exact unit two years prior after testing it during the ADX 2014.
Recalling that initial encounter, she once gushed: “It was love at first sight!” She even went as far as proclaiming the Diplomat dental chair to be “the one” made just for her practice, and calling it “the best deal on the market”.
Be safe, not scary
To be clear, Dr Pervinder Kaur wasn’t an immature rookie easily wowed by newfangled technology. The full-fledged dentist had by 2016, already notched more than a decade of clinical experience, and knew her way around the most sophisticated equipment.
Relocating to Sydney from India in 2008, the alumnus of King Georges Medical & Dental College (India) completed her Masters in Public Health (UWS) and ADC to practise dentistry in Australia. Despite her vast experience, she continued working for others until committing to start Minto Family Dental in 2015.
“I finally decided to set up my own practice,” she enthuses, “in order to create a dream practice that captures my aspirations for dentistry!”
From the get go, Dr Kaur was on a mission to counter misleading notions that cast dentists as “scary masked people”. The goal is to make all her patients, especially the little ones for whom she has affinity, feel completely safe and comfortable during every visit.
Of course, the centrepiece equipment complementing her vision are those dream chairs she bought six years ago from William Green.
Dr Kaur’s enduring brand loyalty can be seen writ large in her purchasing three more models of Diplomat chairs over the years – the most recent of which is the Diplomat Pro 500, which she bought this year.
“Since I needed another chair,” she says, “I thought might as well pamper myself by upgrading to ‘Business Class’.”
Love at first seat
Reminiscent of Dr Kaur’s ebullient description of her Diplomat DA370 encounter, the marketing tagline of the Model Pro series is ‘Love at the first seat’.
Just like its standard counterparts, the Diplomat Pro 500 comes in a holistic package deal of advanced ergonomic features, convertibility, stability, and compatibility.
The Diplomat Dental chair is designed for occupant comfort. It boasts a small footprint, which makes it perfect for small practice rooms. The robust body is layered with UV resistant paint. It has an articulate and foldable armrest, multi-functional and programmable foot, controller, and a 3-D headrest with manual and pneumatic adjustment.
The Dental unit is equipped with a movable bowl that provides an ideal rotation up to 120 degrees to the patient and out.
Of course, the Pro version takes things to a sophisticated level.
Pro has its pros
The synchronized chair movement of the seat and backrest, for example, allows the patient to remain in a fully relaxed position throughout the entire procedure.
Operators are not left out either. The dentist`s and assistant`s element include tray tables that always position the instruments within a comfortable reach. For added comfort and well-designed ergonomics, in addition to the versatile 3-D-headrest, you also get articulated and foldable armrests, as well as a multifunctional, programmable foot controller.
On that ergonomic note, you can convert from left- to right-handed configuration in about 30 seconds – no tools or additional parts required. This feature is also suitable for left-handed users.
“I had previously lost two very skilled dentists, just because they were left handed but all I had were right-handed chairs,” Dr Kaur reveals.
“This conversion feature actually gives me an advantage when advertising for new positions!”
For a touch of modernity, the dental chair can be connected to your portable device for seamless operation. You can make a preventive appointment, prepare white filling, convert the configuration, or change the inclination of the seat and backrest, all from your tablet. Even odd jobs like bowl rotation, cup filling and bowl rinsing can be easily managed through the device.
Dr Kaur says the tablet connectivity allows the team greater flexibility. This includes the ability to save unique user profiles to the Cloud from her iPad, so her dental team can access training by the technical support team at William Green.
When it comes to connectivity and upgradable options, Dr Kaur believes the Diplomat Pro 500 shows the dental make has come a long way.
Ahead of the game
As someone who has put several of the Diplomat chair models through their paces over the years, and experienced firsthand the different iterations and upgrades for both hardware and software,” she attests: “I can safely say that the chairs are way ahead of the game.”
Impressed by their “sleek design, clear finish lines and other aesthetic enhancements”, Dr Kaur says emphatically: “It has all we can ask from a chair, really!”
Ownership of five Diplomat chairs attests not only to the value and quality of the chairs themselves, but also a credit to the after sales and support services rendered by the team at William Green, she says – giving mention to Simon Green, Ryan Green, Chris Jones and Bob Hockey.
“They are all wonderfully professional and reliable people. Their support is really just a phone call away – Bob, the easy going one, seems always the fastest to respond,” Dr Kaur beams.
“One time, Ryan came out after work at 6pm, just to accommodate my busy schedule that day, to check and fix up some issues.”
Among the compliments, what is perhaps most remarkable is that Dr Kaur’s effusive appraisal of the first Diplomat chair she ever bought hasn’t shown any signs of waning.
“It's still working as well as when I first bought it,” she enthuses.
“It’s actually my favourite chair and still the one I’m most comfortable working on for all my difficult cases!”