01/05/2026
Forty years in dentistry goes by faster than you think.
I graduated from Sydney University, Faculty of Dentistry in 1986.
Back then, dentistry was quieter. Dentists didn’t really advertise. Remember Dr Rob, the Oral-B dentist who couldn’t show his face on TV.
Even dental signs were modest. A small brass plaque. A name. Qualifications.
No glowing molar logos lighting up the night like a dental clinic in Blade Runner.
That was dentistry then. Quiet. Local. Word-of-mouth.
Fast-forward a few decades, and dentistry now has influencers, smile reveal videos, makeover reels, filters, funnels, followers, likes, clicks, and enough online dental excitement to make my 1986 self need a lie-down.
Some of it is great. Some of it is useful. Some of it is… very enthusiastic.
In dental school, silver-mercury amalgam fillings were normal. Strong and practical, yes — but about as subtle as a toolbox in a jewellery cabinet.
Today, we can design smiles digitally, plan implants with 3D imaging, straighten teeth with clear aligners, restore worn teeth, replace missing teeth, and create results that once felt like science fiction.
Progress is awesome. Sometimes exhausting. But still awesome.
But dentistry cannot become only graphs, KPIs, targets, dashboards, and bottom-line thinking.
Not if we still want to call it healthcare.
Dentistry is hands, eyes, judgement, experience, trust, responsibility, and time.
It is sitting with someone who may be anxious, embarrassed, hopeful, confused, or in pain — and not treating them like a conversion metric.
For me, it has always been this:
People over profits. Healthcare over hype.
I love modern dentistry. Digital scans, guided implant surgery, ceramics, aligners, AI-assisted planning — these are indispensable tools.
But they are still only tools.
A scanner does not know if you are nervous. A spreadsheet does not know your story.
So, after almost 40 years, Dr Ken Ho BDS, is moving.
Not away from dentistry.
In many ways, back towards the version of dentistry I have always believed in.
We are moving to a new home-style practice at:
11 McIntosh Street, Gordon
Quieter. More personal. More considered.
A place where dentistry can be sophisticated, implants carefully planned, smile makeovers discussed honestly, and aesthetics can whisper rather than shout across the room wearing a neon sign.
This move is not just about a new address.
It is about choosing the kind of dentistry I want to practise for the next chapter.
Fewer patients. More time. More thought. More care.
And yes, a little more life outside the surgery too.
Because if 40 years has taught me anything, it is that time does not politely wait for us to finish our to-do list.
It passes quickly. Too quickly.
Like a wink and a smile.
Dr Ken Ho and the team at Gordon Family Dental and Cosmodontics are moving.
Same care. New home.
A little more room to breathe.
