After more than a decade of caring for patients in Camden, she wanted to create something she felt was missing from the area – a calm, welcoming space where patients could leave the bustle of Camden behind them and feel genuinely looked after. The result is NW1 Dental Care’s new practice at 184 Royal College Street, next to Camden Road Overground station, which is now celebrating its first anniversary.

“I wanted to change people’s perception of what going to the dentist could feel like,” says Dr Bodane.“Camden is such a vibrant, busy place, but the moment you walk through our doors I wanted there to be a sense of calm. People can feel apprehensive about visiting the dentist before they’ve even arrived. So I thought, why shouldn’t a dental practice feel beautiful, relaxing and welcoming? Why can’t looking after your teeth feel like part of looking after yourself?”

Dr Anima Bodane, founder and principal dentist of NW1 Dental Care, which has been caring for patients in Camden since 2014.

NW1 Dental Care was established in Camden in 2014 and has grown alongside the community it serves. Dr Bodane, who has more than 20 years’ experience in dentistry, has seen attitudes towards dental care change considerably during that time. Patients increasingly want to understand their options and take an active role in decisions about their teeth, she says, while advances in technology have changed what dentists are able to offer. But despite those changes, one thing has remained constant. “People want to feel listened to,” she says. “Whether someone is coming in for a routine check-up, they’re nervous because they haven’t seen a dentist for a long time, or they’re considering changing their smile, they want someone to take the time to understand them. It’s that personal relationship which has always been at the heart of our practice.”

It is a relationship that has developed over many years. Some patients have been with the practice since its early days, while Dr Bodane and her team now look after different generations of the same families. “We’ve watched children grow up and we’ve welcomed new members of families over the years,” she says. “That’s one of the privileges of being part of a community for this long. You aren’t just treating teeth – you get to know people.”

DENTISTRY MEETS WELLBEING
That sense of personal care became central to the design of the new practice. Rather than the traditional clinical feel many people associate with dentistry, Dr Bodane wanted the interiors to have more in common with a contemporary wellness space – while behind the scenes investing in modern dental technology.

The idea was not simply about making the practice look different. “Your surroundings affect how you feel,” she says. “If someone already feels nervous about dentistry, walking into a very clinical environment can reinforce that anxiety. We wanted to soften that experience. Of course, the quality of the dentistry has to come first. But I don’t think clinical excellence and a beautiful, calming experience have to be separate things. You can have both.”

The practice provides general and family dental care alongside treatments including dental implants, Invisalign clear aligners, porcelain veneers, teeth whitening and composite bonding. Dr Bodane has a particular interest in dental implants and cosmetic dentistry, although, she says, “the starting point is always the individual patient rather than a particular treatment. Sometimes somebody wants to completely transform their smile and sometimes they simply want to be able to eat comfortably or smile in a photograph without feeling self-conscious. The important thing is understanding what matters to that person.”

Dr Anima Bodane at work at NW1 Dental Care, where the focus is on combining modern dentistry with a calm, personal patient experience.

THE NEXT CHAPTER
A year after opening the doors to the new practice, Dr Bodane says, “the anniversary feels particularly significant because NW1 Dental Care’s story in Camden began more than a decade ago. The new practice wasn’t about leaving our past behind. It was really about creating the home we’d always imagined for the practice. We’ve been part of Camden since 2014 and we want to be here looking after local families for many years to come. If someone walks in from a busy day in Camden, takes a moment and thinks, this doesn’t feel like a dentist’, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do.”

NW1 Dental Care is at 184 Royal College Street, Camden, London NW1 9NN, next to Camden Road Overground station.

For more information about NW1 Dental Care and its treatments, visit: https://www.nw1dentalcare.co.uk