By Danielle Kutchel
A vision for a new kind of dentist drives Berwick Dental Studio to be a leader in its field.
Founded by Dr Tony Liu and Dr Chu Tan, Berwick Dental Studio opened in responses to what its founders saw as an unfulfilled demand in the Berwick area for their brand of dentistry – “a dentistry which is as human as it is comprehensive”, as Dr Liu explained.
They’re also committed to hiring locals – something that has seen them recognised as finalists in the 2021 Casey Business Awards in the employment category.
“The vision of our business is to become a centre for upskilling and growth of both people who are experienced and those who are new to the dental industry,” Dr Liu explained.
“We are dedicated to employing locally, and it feels amazing to be recognised for it.
“We believe that having a passionate and well trained team is crucial in delivering outstanding service.”
To start with, Dr Liu said the clinic hires only growth-minded professionals who are then quickly upskilled through a structured on-boarding program.
Staff regularly take part in team training to ensure their skills are constantly updated and old ones honed.
“There’s no such thing as perfection and we are always learning to improve what we offer,” he said.
The Covid-19 lockdowns restricted the practice’s work to solely dental emergencies, which account for around three per cent of patients as the clinic focuses on preventative care and smile transformations.
But Dr Liu said the lockdown provided an excellent opportunity to develop more training materials and provide staff with further training.
“This unique opportunity allowed us to come out of lockdowns more skilled and more efficient,” he said.
“Over the past year, not only did we keep our entire team employed, we actually grew and doubled our team size.”
As the director of Berwick Dental Studio, Dr Liu said he loves to see his team grow and achieve things they hadn’t even imagined previously.
As a working dentist, he said nothing beats finishing a smile transformation and seeing how his work improves people’s confidence.
It’s a trait shared by the whole team, who pride themselves on taking the time to listen, understand and clarify with patients to set them at ease.
Dr Liu said Casey was a great place to do business, with its mix of established families and ongoing growth.
“It also has a growth minded council where the planning and development strategies really help us flourish,” he said.
He recommended other Casey businesses invest in building the capacity and resilience in their team – two things that are “critical to the success of any business”.
The winners of the 2021 Casey Business Awards will be named at a gala event on Monday 12 July.
