Sisters toast first year of running Harleston Dental and Aesthetic Clinic
Two sisters, who saved a town dental practice from permanent closure, have celebrated the business’ first anniversary.
Sahar and Sonia Anmadiani bought what is now Harleston Dental and Aesthetic Clinic in Redenhall Road from Bupa, when it closed 85 practices around the country last year.
A year on from opening the doors on December 6, Sonia said it has been great to continue their dental service in the town.
She said: “This practice has been here in Harleston for more than 30 years, through other people and then Bupa, which took it over about 15 years ago.
“It is the only dental practice in the town, so when Bupa decided they would be closing it, Sahar, who was already working here as an associate dentist, approached them to buy the practice and save it.
“We bought it off of them and made some changes, as we wanted to continue to serve the community.
“This first year has been great and we have been doing really well, though there have been challenges. We are fortunate to have a great team of staff and clients.”
As well as general dentistry, the practice offers dental implants, teeth whitening and straightening.
Based in the town’s old police station, with around 20 staff on the books, other services include facial aesthetics, migraine treatment, non-surgical jaw reduction and lip enhancement.
Sonia, who works at the site as a dental technician, said: “We wanted to provide as many services as we would so that people in Harleston would not have to travel out of town to get things done.
“We have introduced these new treatments by bringing in specialists to make sure patients do not need to travel to the likes of Norwich for advanced care.”
With Suffolk and Norfolk in the midst of a dental crisis, the practice has been taking on as many NHS patients as it can, but it remains a challenge to get dentists to take on NHS work.
“We have been trying our best to get them through the door, but this is the biggest challenge the industry is facing at the moment,” added Sonia.
“Every day, we are looking at ways we can help as we know it is a huge issue for people.
“We would like to thank everyone for their support. We feel very fortunate to have an excellent team here working together to provide the best possible care.
“We hope we can go on and help more people by providing our services and continue to grow the practice in years to come.”
To mark its first anniversary, Harleston Dental and Aesthetic Clinic has a range of special offers running. To find out more, go online to harleston-dental.co.uk.
