Laura Horton began her career in 1996 as a regular dental nurse but today has built her way up to be an inspiring business owner and consultant. Her career opened her eyes to many different dental environments from the NHS, mixed, community, hospital, private, cosmetic and orthodontic practices. Through her wide range of experiences Laura gained a great passion and a considerable amount of knowledge of the dentistry industry. In 2004 Laura became a Treatment Coordinator, a job she loved. It was through her experience as a Treatment Coordinator that she developed the basis of her business idea: that all practices could benefit from a position like hers.
She then spent years developing the system of a Treatment Coordinator. She believed in something exceptional, not only for patients but for dentists and their whole teams. Laura’s business ‘Laura Horton Consulting’ which began in 2008, is now a consulting company which specialises in the implementation of the Treatment Coordinator position. The company offers training and courses for Treatment Coordinators and practices looking to gain another team member but also provides education and training for existing employees such as practice managers, dental nurses and dentists.
The role of a Treatment Coordinator is to offer free consultations for prospective new patients. Laura maintains that, ‘Every new patient has questions, needs options, you need more of them.’ New patients are expected to pay. TCO can offer free consultations to see what kind of treatment the patients might want.’ Laura claims that her approach avoids ‘shoppers’ and that practice revenue can increase, pressure can be reduced on the team and non-clinical time is can also decrease. Laura’s team travels to deliver training programmes which involve workshops and elearning. Laura has become an extremely influential figure and the UK’s number one Treatment Coordinator Consultant. Laura describes her business as ‘the unique partner for forward thinking dental practices wishing to raise their level of business success.’
Dr Ashish Parama who is the Principal at Smile Design by Ash, which is one of the top five cosmetic and implant practices in the UK and also appeared on Extreme Makeover UK said, ‘I can honestly say she is one of the best employees I’ve ever had. She’s very fun, she’s very proactive, Laura likes to learn, she picks things very fast. And the other great thing is she’s also launched her own teaching career as a Treatment Coordinator and I know Laura is probably the number one Treatment Coordinator in the UK right now and quite deservably so.’ At Smile Design Laura was in charge of managing the two practices and was also responsible for the training academy.
Chris Barrow said, ‘Laura combines energy, passion, an intimate knowledge of her area of expertise and a mature business brain. She has become the "go to girl" for treatment co-ordinator training - which is why she is the recommendation of choice for my own clients.’
Laura Horton Consulting aims to push forward practices, increase patient numbers, increase cash flow and set outstanding standards of dentistry across the UK. Laura’s ultimate aim is to motivate practices to strive for the best service they can offer which can result in teams being proud of their service and what they do. She has assisted practices in reaching high levels of success. Laura is recognised for her knowledge of the UK dental marketplace and understanding of the public. With her compelling enthusiasm and passion Laura has become invaluable to the progression of dental practices across the UK.
Olive Dental Care’s Dr Shebin Koshy said, ‘I can recommend Laura to any dentist who wants their business to be transformed. I have never met anybody with so much energy and passion about what they do.'
