Dr Lisa Currie has a passion for putting smiles on faces. Not just any old smiles – but creating beautiful, straight healthy smiles for kids and grown-ups.
That is her mission as the Clinical Director and Consultant Orthodontist of the award-winning The Orthodontic Clinic in Aberdeen’s Golden Square, which she and Managing Director, Ivin Tan, took over 10 years ago. In these past 10 years, these proud business owners have built a multi-award winning practice.
We caught up with Lisa and Ivin for a chat about the clinic’s vital work, its compelling ethos, the importance of being an Aberdeen Inspired levy payer and their plans for the next 12 months – including a big bash at the Chester Hotel next month to celebrate their milestone 10th anniversary.
Tell us about The Orthodontic Clinic.
Quite simply, we specialise in straightening teeth, which is what orthodontics is all about. We also provide teeth whitening and we do anti-snoring devices.
We treat both NHS and private patients, both children and adults from age 7 to 70 and specialise in all types of braces.
People may think braces are just conventional wire braces, but we do aesthetic options, we do invisible options, we do removable options.
It’s a great clinic. We have 23 staff, we have our own on-site lab and we have a great, family atmosphere. We are definitely a team that when patients come to us they feel very at home and comfortable.
We also have very high professional standards. We are probably one of the most referred to clinics in Aberdeen, and we are very grateful for that. We get referrals from general dental practitioners in Aberdeen and the shire, as they don’t typically carry out orthodontic treatments themselves.
We also encourage young staff to join us and we train them here and help develop their careers in dentistry.
Dr Lisa Currie, clinical director of The Orthodontic Clinic, has a passion for her work and pride in the highly-skilled team. Image - Provided by The Orthodontic Clinic
The six-surgery clinic has a very warm and friendly décor and atmosphere. Tell us more about that.
When anyone comes into a dental setting – and even though orthodontics is slightly different – it can make patients feel a bit anxious. So, we wanted everyone to come in and feel the clinic was light and breezy. That’s why we have this sort of beach-themed seaside feel. It’s not quite same seaside that Aberdeen has, but we are trying to inspire people to feel comfortable and relaxed, so that’s pretty much the ethos of the decoration of the clinic.
What do you like about being based in the city centre?
We love Golden Square, it is a beautiful and historic square and a lovely setting. We are literally in the heart of the city centre, right behind the Music Hall, which is a historic landmark as well and very well known. So many people go to the Music Hall for its many attractions and events, so that’s excellent from our point of view.
Being in the city centre in Aberdeen you are part of a community of local businesses and that feels really nice. Everybody has the same idea that we want to boost the city centre, make it feel a more attractive place to be in, so it feels like you’re part of a group that’s trying to build something together, which is really nice.
What are the benefits for you and your business of being an Aberdeen Inspired levy payer?
Collectively, you want to be part of a structured community and group where everyone is working towards the same cause.
It’s about making Aberdeen more prosperous and an attractive place for people, not just to live but to work and play and visit. We want to make more people come into the city and feel there’s something to look forward to.
I think it’s important we boost Aberdeen as much as we can. It’s our city and we like to see something being done to improve it, which is why we are pleased to be part of Aberdeen Inspired.
Dr Lisa Currie, clinical director, and Ivin Tan, managing director, are celebrating the 10th anniversary of taking over The Orthodontic Clinic at Golden Square. Image - supplied by The Orthodontic Clinic
What are your plans for the next 12 months?
We’ve grown quite a bit in the past 10 years. We’ve built our clinic, we’ve built our staff, we’ve built our reputation. It’s all about maintaining consistency and making sure our standards are always high. For us, it’s about keeping on doing what we are doing.
This is a good time to mention your 10th anniversary celebration
We bought over the clinic 10 years ago and it means a lot to us to see how far we have come.
That’s not just clinically and the number of patients we see and the quality we provide, but also building this beautiful clinic in this four-storey building and refurbishing it.
From a business that was struggling to now really thriving and actually being recognised with awards in Scotland and across the UK for things like best team, best employer, best patient care or best specialist practice, means a lot. It’s not just humbling but it’s really nice to be acknowledged in that way.
So, we are throwing this big bash to have lots of the people who have been really instrumental in helping us build the company from the very early stages – contractors who helped us put in the surgeries and the flooring, etc – to lawyers, solicitors, accountants, friends, family and all the staff, just to celebrate this huge milestone for us.
The warm and friendly beach-themed decor at The Orthodontic Clinic helps puts patients at ease. Image - Supplied by The Orthodontic Clinic
What advice would you give to new businesses looking to set up in the city centre?
When you come into Aberdeen, which is a beautiful city, stay committed to making your business a success, stay loyal to your cause and make customer service a priority.
It’s very easy to walk down Union Street and see buildings that look grey or not inhabited in some way. It’s for business owners to really try to find something unique or special to make their business stand out and look attractive, so we can increase the number of people that come in and see the city centre as somewhere they want to be.
What would be the biggest improvement to the city centre in your opinion?
When you walk down the street it doesn’t look attractive when you see something that’s boarded up and it’s to let or for sale. It would be nice if we could see some sort of temporary frontage to make those shop fronts look a bit more attractive whilst they are being either renovated or let out. Existing business owners could do more to decorate their own shop fronts too to make them look more enticing for customers.
For example, in Golden Square we had some improvements at Christmas when they put red bows up and lights around the circle. That just makes everything look better. Attractiveness is an important thing.
The city does do things like restaurant week and the Christmas market, but we could make them bigger and better to get people from outside Aberdeenshire to see this as a place to come and visit.
When you’re not working where is your favourite place or thing to do in Aberdeen?
We are big moviegoers, so we go to Cineworld and we eat at Union Square. We like to go to the gym and stroll down the beach when it’s nice weather.
To find out more about The Orthodontic Clinic, visit www.theorthodonticclinic.co.uk
Dr Lisa Currie enjoys The Orthodontic Clinic being at the heart of the city in Golden Square - with the Music Hall right next door. Image - Supplied by The Orthodonitc Clinic.
High professional standards and top-flight treatment are the bedrock of award-winning The Orthodontic Clinic. Image - Supplied by The Orthodontic Clinic.