Kenya hear me at the back? Shivani Patel Lectures in Nairobi

Our very own Shivani Patel was honoured with an invite from the Kenya Dental Association to share her expertise on Orthodontics in the 21st century. We like to think that, coming from an award winning practice with expertise in up to the minute Orthodontics innovations like Suresmile and the Damon System, she’s pretty well placed.

Shivani’s talk brought to Kenya’s dental community the impacts new techniques like Suresmile and Invisalign have brought to British practises like Elleven. She also fielded questions on the UK’s diverse range of career opportunities for gifted Orthodontists.

Clearly she did something right, as she’s since been published in Kenya’s leading Asian weekly paper with an article on the evolution of Orthodontics.

The event was a massive success, attended by the great and the good of African and world dentistry, all of whom, we hope, were pretty pleased with a bracing session of thought-leading orthodontic oratory…

(Sure)Smile for the Camera

Shivani was recently awarded third prize in the dentistry magazine photography awards for a striking image (pictured).  We’re proud of her, of course, but we also thought the competition was a great way of celebrating the camerawork of Orthodontists so often only known for bland before and after snaps.

The memorable picture shows a Cambodian woman with her smile drastically coloured by the juices of the areca nut. The nut is a natural stimulant popular in the area. Let’s just hope it doesn’t all go to her head and persuade her to give up the day job…

Asian Women of Achievement Awards

Shivani has been chosen as a finalist in 2012’s Asian Women of Achievement awards - professions category. Taking place on May 16th, the event gives a much-needed showcase for hardworking but often uncelebrated Asian women in Britain, and is judged by corporate hi-flyers like Visa Commercial vice-president David Harrison, leaders in the arts like novelist Catherine Mannering and international achievers in their own right like Tulsi Naidu of Prudential UK and Europe.

We’ve all got our fingers crossed for her (though secretly we can’t help but be the slightest bit jealous of our multi-talented figurehead…)

One Henna-ve a Night- The Elleven Xmas Do

We had a fabulous Xmas party this December, with practice staff dressing up in saris and other finery in accordance with our Bollywood theme. Just like the classic film genre, it provided some much-needed escapism from an exciting but extremely busy year.

We felt a bit guilty just dressing up without a bit more of a nod to tradition, so we had some expert henna artists brightening up all and sundry. Of course, we weren’t prepared to just throw this bash without getting something back ourselves, so we managed to weave a bit of Secret Santa into the mix.

We hope everyone that attended enjoyed themselves, and we’re currently thinking of our next excuse for a shindig…



Turning it up to Elleven (and dancing until 1) at the
Elleven Launch Party

Last November, we launched our new Clinic, Elleven Dental, on a very appropriate date- 11/11/11-here at Elleven, we’re nothing if not creative. Neither are we ones to restrict our celebrations: we also had a set of 6 fabulous new clinics to unveil, along with Suresmile, the hi-tech, hi-speed, hi-results orthodontic treatment beloved of celebrities and those who fancy saving a bit of time alike!

We’re in the business of spreading smiles- both literally and figuratively- so we thought we’d invite as many people as we could. In the end, we had a great crowd of patients, referring dentists, friends and family of Elleven. Sipping champagne, wolfing down canapés and - taking a break from performing magic in our patients’ mouths- marvelling at the antics of an incredible magician, we thought it went off pretty well.



Elleven at the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry

In November, we showcased our new SureSmile treatments at the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry conference. Staffed by the fabulous Emma Munday (practice manager) and Kellie Christiansen (treatment coordinator), the stand proved a hit with passing cosmetic dentists, visiting journalists and other conference hangers on.

Featuring videos of the technique, press coverage and records of patient experiences, the stand was a worthy introduction to SureSmile, among the most revolutionary orthodontic techniques of recent years. Those interested in SureSmile should check out the wealth of coverage it’s had since its inception in the States. Try this for starters: http://www.suresmile.com/About-SureSmile/SureSmile-In-The-News

Elleven Bags Two National Awards!

Amidst the noise of the Baftas, Golden Globes, and Oscars, spare a moment to think about us in the world of Orthodonistry, who have to accept our awards without the luxury of long speeches, tearful breakdowns or drug fuelled interview rants.

We’re not really bitter, in fact we’re thrilled to bits that we cleaned up at the Private Practice awards, 2011, taking home the Best private practice in London, as well as being nominated for Best New Practice, Best Aesthetic Practice, Best Marketing and Best Practice in London. We trod the Red (well blueish actually, if you must know) carpet at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane with pride (though not too much, we don’t want our rivals to be too jealous).

We were also fantastically excited to be given the Best Practice in London award at the Dentistry Awards 2011. Our very own Shivani Patel, consultant Orthodonist at Elleven, was shortlisted for best young dentist in London by the dentistry awards. She’d like to thank her Mum, her Granny, a selection of fashionable self help gurus…

In seriousness, Shivani and all the team are just proud of all the hard work we’ve put in over the past couple of years. All we strive for is a focus on fulfilling patients’ needs and exceeding their expectations, again and again. We have tried to ensure that we have all systems in place to ensure that we are able to become a super-premium London practice providing outstanding care for our patients who deserve to have straight beautiful smiles.

Elleven in Uganda

Our consultants Sammer and Shivani Patel care even more about their charity missions in East Africa (of which they’ve completed one to date) than they do about the smiles of our patients. Once you’ve finished reeling from this startling quantity of love, perhaps you can pay attention to a bit of a request. Shivani and Sameer plan on undertaking another trip in 2013, for which they’ve received a very large number of donations from patients and interest from potential sponsors. If you’d like to help us help some very deserving people, do get in contacting.



Currently, Sameer and Shivani are in the process of preparing the team for their mission.

Tales From Elleven: The Best so Far
We thought we’d run you back through some of the treatments we’re most proud of from the past - the stories of the people who come to us, and what we do to help them.

Alexandra: Alexandra was worried about the whole experience of wearing braces. A glamorous Russian immigrant studying at a top Yorkshire Boarding school, she had hang ups from her childhood: would they hurt? Would they look ugly? Thankfully, she told us at the end that our top treatments and friendly staff had coached her through the ordeal nicely. For our part, we think her teeth certainly benefitted from the experience.

George: George came to us sick of Dentists and Orthodontists who took one look at his teeth and delivered a standardised solution without taking the time to consider what worked for him. As a result, he’d never been very responsive to treatment, until he came to Elleven, where he says every step of his service was totally personalised. As a result, he dropped us a thankyou note saying his smile had been ‘completely transformed’.

Angelica: Angelica is a student from Bristol, who was sensitive about her crooked teeth and bite. As a consequence we administered Damon braces to her top and bottom teeth. Now she looks much better- and is capable of wolfing down a late night kebab with the best of her contemporaries!

The EPAs: a d-Elite-ful reminder of the strength of British Dentistry.

The Elleven team have just got back from the Elite Practice Awards, where we were thrilled to be selected as finalists for Best Referral Practice in the UK!

You probably won’t believe us, but these awards are actually not about coming top (though we did allow ourselves a little bragging and general backslapping at the celebratory boat party that ended the event). The Elite awards are open to entries from any practice, and they’re about stories- what makes practices tick, how they started, where they’ve gone. The awards process involves a 10 minute presentation by senior figures from each practice (in our case Shivani and Anthony), and it really is a great deal more exciting than a whole day of watching shameless self promotion by rights ought to be.

From tiny practices to large, almost corporate, entities, every organisation had its own flavour and spark, and it was really inspiring to be in the company of such talented individuals. There were some pretty innovative ideas floating about- including one practice who like to pump the smell of baking bread into the waiting room to entice patients! It was also truly inspiring to see so many practices who’d built themselves up from tiny NHS units in the 80’s to really striking private outfits today. Many of these were run by husband/wife teams- there is hope after all for our own Shivani and Sameer!

I don’t know how closely you follow the world of toothcare, but for those of us who do, there has been a lot of talk recently about a lack of fresh ideas British dentistry,. After the event, one of the judges remarked to us that the awards served to restore his faith in the profession. They were, he said, “A shattering insight into the ambition and drive of dentistry in this land.”

Our practice has never been static and continued improvement what we strive for. A few new ideas we learnt from other practices will continue to improve our practice!

Dentistry and Orthodontics, perhaps more than any other medical professions, are driven by ambition, independence, passion and an entrepreneurial spirit. The sheer wealth and range of ideas on show at the awards proved beyond all doubt that this fire is still well and truly blazing.