Podcasts · Dental Leaders Podcast

#349 Doing the Right Thing — Ian Dunn

1 Jul 2026 · 1 h 57 min

Ian Dunn didn't set out to become a periodontist. A chance encounter with a stranger in a hospital corridor, a course he took on a whim, and the absence of anyone else doing the job in Liverpool — that's how a specialism was born. In this episode, Payman sits down with Ian to trace a career shaped as much by happy accidents as by hard graft; from a comprehensive school kid who retook his A-levels, to one of the most respected perio voices in the north west.

They cover the state of the profession — social media's double edge, the case for CPD reform, awards culture, and the strange silence around perio's role in systemic health. Ian is candid about a GDC case that cost him eleven months of sleep, and equally candid about why he'd never swap his associate chair for a principal's desk.

In This Episode

00:01:25 — Growing up in Liverpool

00:02:10 — Student life at Leeds

00:05:35 — Route into dentistry

00:11:50 — Ethics and professionalism

00:18:50 — Life as a GDP

00:19:25 — Route into periodontics

00:29:30 — How perio has changed

00:41:35 — The mouth-body connection

00:46:00 — What's changed in perio

00:52:55 — Good vs great periodontists

00:56:35 — Industry, big pharma and public education

01:00:25 — What grinds your gears

01:05:00 — Social media, awards and measuring success

01:15:25 — Teaching and self-promotion

01:16:30 — Hygienists, teamwork and hierarchy

01:20:25 — Liverpool

01:24:15 — Blackbox thinking

01:27:45 — GDC complaint

01:39:50 — Associate life and practice ownership

01:46:05 — Best lectures and resources

01:53:25 — Fantasy dinner party

01:56:15 — How Ian wants to be remembered

About Ian Dunn

Ian Dunn is a specialist periodontist based at Rose Lane Dental Practice in Liverpool, where he has worked for over 15 years. A graduate of Leeds, he spent a decade as an NHS GDP before finding his way into perio through a combination of luck, timing and relentless curiosity. Alongside his clinical work, Ian teaches on perio courses and has been active with the British Society of Periodontology, where he is a vocal advocate for hygienists, therapists, and anyone who believes the gums are everyone's business.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)