Born and raised in Duisburg, where I went to high school, I was initially trained as a dental technician. I thereafter transferred to Greifswald on the Baltic coast to study dentistry, eventually returning to the Ruhr region to work as a dentist. After my specialist medical training as an orthodontist in Tübingen, I more or less accidentally ended up in Stockach, where I have been living and working as an orthodontist to this day.

Orthodontics is the area of expertise I immediately decided to put my mind to. Regarding this choice, I frankly never wanted to become a surgeon, as no one particularly looks forward to seeing them! I would not say kids are yearning to come to my practice either, but I do not feel like a bogeyman doing my job, as the end result of my work is pretty and something both my patients and I can enjoy.

After 14 years of orthodontic experience, the biggest challenges have become the demands on the profession itself. These include legislative issues such as data protection, new techniques and innovations, hygiene management, and so on. Patient-related issues, however, have become second nature. Here, the contact with my team is definitely one of the best things about the job for me. There is no classical hierarchy and we bounce ideas off each other and help each other often.

After buying and renovating an old dental practice in 2005, I built a new, modern practice in April 2017. It embodies a response to the changes in my profession and patients since I first started. Like most things, orthodontics is moving in a digital direction. Scanners have replaced impressions, optimising and simplifying orthodontic treatment, which has become more predictable than ever. Another trend is the transition from fixed to transparent and less visible appliances, as well as adult orthodontics. Since last year, we have noticed a very significant increase in adult patients who want to have orthodontic treatment. Here, women seem to be picking up earlier on this new trend than men.

Interestingly, what has not changed are my practice chairs. They are MIKRONA ORTHORA 200s and they have served me well over the years. I had two in the old practice, which I took with me to the new one. Ultimately, their quality convinced me to buy another two units. They just work and they do not wear out. Also, it is possible to fully customise the chairs to your needs so that they can be properly integrated in the practice, both with regard to workflow and visually. They come in a wide array of colours, but I decided to keep them relatively neutral so that they fit in with the practice’s existing design. In a way, they are so central to the practice that they have become like an art piece. Regardless of colour, they would just fit anyway.