Dr. Dev Vohra, DDS is proud of his Burlington dentistry at Power Street. It’s a flourishing oral healthcare centre that upholds high quality patient care as its guiding principle. And it’s also a place where the staff knows you by name, the hygienists are detail-oriented and everyone cares.
Dr. Dev is the type of dentist that takes the time to reassure patients and explain procedures. He enjoys seeing his patient’s families grow and experience new milestones. When you listen to him speak, you can still hear the same excitement in his voice that you’d expect from a dentist newly out of school. He proudly relays the successes he has had in educating patients on preventative oral care.
Dr. Dev is a professional who genuinely enjoys his craft and understands that the connection he builds with every patient is where his success lies.
As the rebel in a multi-generational family of educators, he knew early on that dentistry was where he wanted to work and develop a career. Dr. Dev graduated from two of the top Universities in North America, including Trinity College at the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and chose to start practising with other dentists as an associate.
Although he could’ve easily set up his practice in any fast-paced urban metropolis in Canada after college, he chose to home in on his skills and develop his experience working alongside seasoned professionals. Seven years later, he decided it was the right time to step out on his own.
Small-town values
Dr. Dev found an excellent location for his practise in central Burlington, Ontario — a growing city of just under 200,000. Burlington can best be described as an exceptionally large version of a typical small town. It was ranked in 2019 as Canada’s ‘‘Best Community’ and ‘Best Place to Raise a Family’. It also turned out to be a suitable place to open a solo dental practice.
Dr. Dev recalls the instant he realised the momentousness of that occasion. Seeing the bright lights shining on the sign of his very own dentistry surprised him with delight. “... I didn’t think I would get so much joy. But it dawned on me that all the effort, resources and time spent studying the craft — that this sign was now referring to me!”
He quickly began to hire coworkers who shared his philosophy on patient-centred care. Next came the task of connecting with new patients and announcing he was open for appointments.
“From the beginning my goal was to open a successful, independent and sustainable practice.”
Big-city communication
Dr. Dev knew he needed to establish an online presence to introduce himself and his practice to the community.
He decided on using GoDaddy’s Website Builder to create a site for himself as BurlingtonDentist.co.
Having little experience with developing websites, he found it easy to choose themes and visuals that were consistent in communicating a friendly and attentive atmosphere he was building into his care standards.
“My family and friends were asking who developed this for you? They couldn’t believe it when I said the layouts and photos were all stock options from GoDaddy.”
GoDaddy fills the spot
That iteration of the website served his practice and patients' needs well for several years, then things changed rapidly when COVID-19 hit. The pandemic forced almost all businesses and healthcare premises to close and the first few months of lockdown led to many cancelled appointments — except for patients with extreme emergencies.
“The practice became all about dealing with communication. Reorganizing and communicating patient schedules, posting and communicating updated safety plans and communicating all of the operational changes that had to be implemented, sometimes overnight.”
All these unexpected changes meant Dr. Dev needed to quickly pivot his business needs.
“That’s when I decided to update our original website to accommodate all of our new communication needs, and GoDaddy was right there with us.”
When the formatting didn’t click in the way he wanted it to on his site, Dr. Dev made a quick call to customer support. “They said it was no problem, we’ll make it work, and they were really fast [at] coming up with a solution.”
Making time to find balance
Today, he continues to update the site as needed using GoDaddy’s mobile app. The sleek visuals and programming options that are available to him through the app make it easy for him to maintain his site.
“I put my patient screening forms on the website, so they have easy access to it.” Over time, Dr. Dev was able to reopen his business and was surprised to find out that “patients [would] often use the website to leave a message or text rather than call or come into the office!”
The mobile app also helps Dr. Dev free up precious time for his family. As a father to three kids under nine, it's important he reserves time for them in between appointments with his patients. Dr. Dev credits his schoolteacher wife, who is also a trained nutritionist, with helping him stay on a healthy track.
“She has been a big support and cheerleader to my success in running the practice.”
Words of wisdom
The last few years working under the shadow of the pandemic has been tough for Dr. Dev, but he shares this advice to other business owners thoughtfully:
“There will always be challenges and hard work to be done, and there will be times when you will face obstacles, but you just have to keep pushing through.”
Looking back at the past 20 years since starting dental school, he notes:
“It has been a fun and challenging experience growing and learning as a health care provider. From the very first associateship, to finding the right location to open a dental practice - there is always some new hurdle you have to overcome.”
As he approaches his ten-year mark of BurlingtonDentist.co being open, Dr. Dev explains that “it’s a very fulfilling feeling knowing that this is what I have created and this is how I contribute to my community.”
“You can’t underestimate the importance of an online presence,” he concludes. “The website lets my patients know my mission and my message. It is important to spend the time to do it right.”
