Morpeth is the home of family-friendly Roots Dental - a new practice combining cutting-edge clinical care with a calming patient experience. Simon Rushworth hears how husband and wife team Dr Michael Barrell and Emma Rozgowska have achieved a lifetime's ambition.
Step into the warm and welcoming reception area of Roots Dental and it’s like walking into the lobby of a boutique hotel. The chilled atmosphere, delightful décor and the smell of freshly brewed coffee is utterly at odds with the preconception of a clinical and cramped waiting room framed by bright white walls and cold plastic seats. Here you’ll find designer sofas, a soothing soundtrack and even a play area replete with a fully stocked bookshelf.
The chance to read and relax is entirely appropriate. Roots Dental is based on the site of Morpeth’s former public library and the private practice’s story is well worth telling. It’s a tale of bold reinvention and the realisation of a lifelong dream.
“I grew up in Morpeth and I always imagined coming back here one day,” explains Emma Rozgowska, Business Manager at Roots Dental. The former King Edward VI pupil met her husband, Michael, at university in Edinburgh before the couple set up home in Sheffield.
“We loved it in South Yorkshire but after lockdown it felt like time to come ‘home’,” she adds. “Michael always looked forward to coming up to Northumberland and we wanted to be somewhere where the sea wasn’t too far away. We moved up here in 2021 and started the search for our first practice.”
Emma, a qualified teacher and STEM specialist with a PhD in organic chemistry, and Michael, who studied dentistry in Sheffield, set about identifying a building to match their vision of a friendly, accessible, modern-day practice that combines the latest technology with traditional values.
“It took us some time to find the right place,” adds Michael. “I worked as an associate dentist in and around Morpeth to start with and realised there was a demand for something a bit different. It was always my ambition to open my own practice but for what I wanted to achieve we knew it would take some time.”
Roots Dental has been two years in the planning but what Michael and Emma have achieved so far is remarkable. Given the size and scope of the former Manchester Street library, just a stone’s throw from Morpeth town centre, this is only the start.
“So much planning, background work and research went into getting this right,” adds Emma. “We were very conscious of the fact that when you do a build like this, there’s a lot of infrastructure you need to build in. When we found this place new knew it would be amazing. But it was big!”
So big, in fact, that Emma and Michael have only just scratched the surface. “We’ve got two surgeries built – one that’s functioning and one that’s ready once a new chair is installed. There’s space to add another three chairs.
“We’d like to be able to offer training courses and create additional meeting rooms and community spaces. We’re taking things one step at a time but we have big ambitions and we know where we’re headed.”
Last month Roots Dental was revealed as a winner in the latest My Local Awards, celebrating the North East’s best-rated businesses. “We’ve only been open since March and so we weren’t expecting anything,” admits Emma. “We were stunned to find out that we’d won and, given that the awards are based on public votes, we feel very proud.”
What Emma and Michael have created is something unique. Roots Dental’s reception area is comfortable, spacious, bright and calming. Colour coordinated decor and staff uniforms create a luxury spa feel, while the patient-friendly surgery has been designed to maintain an overriding sense of serenity. Step-free access throughout adds to a stress-free patient experience.
“I’m not a dentist and so I came at the practice design from a completely different angle,” explains Emma. “But I was also very conscious of the fact that Michael’s approach is very calming and he makes even the most anxious patients feel at ease.
“The practice needed to reflect his personality and approach. What doesn’t help when patients visit the dentist is bright lights, white walls, hard plastic chairs and tight spaces – all of that just builds up anxiety.
“So we were very conscious that we wanted to make Roots Dental completely different.
Because we have the big windows and so much space, we’ve gone for a lovely green theme and tried to give everything a natural feel. Even the surgeries use colours to help put our patients at ease.”
To find out more visit wearerootsdental.com