Implant + Perio Clinic

Patients occasionally ask us why our website and social media channels contain fewer before-and-after photographs than some other dental practices. It is a fair question. After all, dentistry is a visual profession, and photographs can be a helpful way of illustrating what modern treatment can achieve.

Our Answer

The answer is not that we lack experience. Between us, we have spent decades caring for patients, restoring smiles and providing treatment ranging from routine dentistry to complex implant and restorative cases. The answer is simply that we have always taken a slightly different view.

Both of us qualified in Germany before continuing our professional careers in the United Kingdom. The professional culture we grew up in placed enormous emphasis on patient privacy, professional responsibility and avoiding any form of pressure in healthcare. When we qualified, dental advertising in Germany was heavily restricted. In many cases, practices displayed little more than the dentist’s name outside the building. The focus was not on promotion. It was on patient care. While times have changed, some of those values have remained with us.

Our patients are not marketing material

When a patient comes to see us, we want them to make decisions because they understand their options and feel treatment is right for them — not because they have seen dozens of carefully selected photographs and feel they should want the same thing. Of course, we take clinical photographs. They are an important part of diagnosis, treatment planning and record keeping. We also share selected dental cases where patients have generously given us permission to do so. But we have always been cautious about turning every treatment journey into marketing material.

Not everything we do can be shown in a photograph

Many of our patients are professionals, business owners, healthcare workers, public figures and individuals who simply value their privacy. Some are delighted to share their results. Others would prefer their treatment to remain entirely personal. We respect both choices equally. We also believe that dentistry is about more than photographs. A photograph can show a beautiful smile. It cannot show whether treatment was appropriate. It cannot show how carefully options were discussed. It cannot show long-term stability, patient comfort or the trust built between patient and clinician over many years.

Some of the work we are proudest of would be difficult to capture in a single image. Helping a nervous patient feel comfortable enough to attend regularly. Treating gum disease before it becomes a more serious problem. Relieving pain. Preserving natural teeth. Supporting a patient over many years rather than focusing on a single transformation. These successes rarely make dramatic social media posts, but they matter deeply to the people who experience them.

The practice we have always wanted to build

We appreciate that before-and-after photographs can be useful, and we will continue to share selected cases where appropriate and where patients are happy for us to do so. At the same time, we will continue to place patient dignity, privacy and informed decision-making above marketing considerations. Perhaps that approach reflects the generation of dentists we belong to. Or perhaps it simply reflects the kind of practice we have always wanted to build.

Either way, we believe every patient deserves the freedom to make decisions about their oral health without pressure, and the confidence that their privacy will always be respected.

For patients who would like to understand more about the experience of others at the clinic, our patient stories offer another way to learn about our approach.

About the Authors

This article was written by Dr Sanaz Tehrani, DDS (Germany), and Dr Pedram Negahban DDS (Germany), DipImpDent RCS (Eng.), AssocFCGDent, Clinical Directors of Implant & Perio Clinic in Marylebone, Central London.

Both Dr Tehrani and Dr Negahban qualified from RWTH Aachen University in Germany before continuing their professional careers in the United Kingdom.

Throughout their careers, they have shared a belief that dentistry should remain centred on the patient rather than the promotion of treatment. While modern technology and communication have transformed the profession, they continue to value the principles that shaped their early training: professionalism, discretion, honesty and respect for patient autonomy.

Many of the patients they care for have been attending for years, often recommending friends, family members and colleagues. It is a trust that has been built gradually, one patient at a time, and remains at the heart of everything they do.

Implant & Perio Clinic is located at Implant & Perio Clinic, Portland Place, Marylebone, near Harley Street, London W1

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