What a quarter of a century in dentistry teaches you about people, purpose and perseverance
As anyone who’s worked in dentistry for any length of time will know, people rarely stay in the same role, with the same company, for 25 years. So, when that happens, it’s worth taking a step back and asking why.
This year marks 25 years since Josie Hutchings joined Practice Plan, and her story says as much about the dental profession as it does about the woman herself. From the earliest days of private plan adoption to the pressures practices face today, Josie’s career has run alongside some of the biggest changes dentistry has ever seen.
Here’s how she got to where she is today, and why she’s still here after all these years.
The knock on the door that started it all
Josie was originally working for Bupa Health Insurance, when she was given the chance to move into their fledgling dental plan division. She loved this role but then Bupa decided dentistry wasn’t for them and sold the plan on to another provider. With two small children to look after, Josie made the choice to step back from work for a spell and took redundancy.
It was while she was at home caring for her girls that Practice Plan’s founder, John Tinsley, turned up unannounced on her doorstep. She answered the door with her baby daughter in her arms, and was astonished when John, whom she had never met before, presented her with a simple proposition: “Come and work for me, three days a week, and let’s see how we get on.”
Having accepted the job on this ‘suck it and see’ basis, the rest, as they say, is history.
The early days: energy, excitement and doing it all
When Josie originally joined Practice Plan, the business looked very different from the one many practices recognise today.
In contrast to today’s 20+ strong field team and large office-based support structure, then there was only John out selling, and Jan his wife and Co-owner, doing the training. Josie was the very first Regional Support Manager (RSM), helping practices make sense of dental plans and, in many cases, guiding them through significant change.
Josie recalls those early years as being fast‑moving and entrepreneurial. “It was a real buzz,” she says. “Every new practice felt exciting. Every win mattered.” She feels as if that sense of momentum has never really left her.
Why stay for 25 years?
There can be many reasons why someone stays with the same employer for decades, including loyalty or habit. For Josie, what’s kept her at Practice Plan are variety, trust, and people. “No two days are ever the same,” she says. “I’ve never been bored.”
Just as important to her was knowing she was supported, that Practice Plan had her back, and that caring about people was genuine and not simply a slogan. That attitude, she believes, was there at the very beginning when it was just her, John and Jan and remains part of Practice Plan’s culture today.
The practices that become family
Speak to any of the practices Josie supports and they will all tell you how much they love her. Her USP is her ability to build deep and lasting relationships with practices. A dentist at one of her practices once said that she wished she could bottle Josie so that she could always have her there when she needed her!
Over 25 years, she’s worked alongside dentists and teams through every stage of practice life: conversions, growth, partnership changes, retirement, and sometimes extremely dark moments.
She’s seen:
- Practices grow from almost nothing into thriving businesses
- Dentists on the brink of walking away from the profession rediscover their enjoyment of dentistry
- Teams successfully navigate financial pressure, mental health challenges and huge uncertainty.
She’s often regarded as an additional member of the practice team. “I’ve gone to weddings, christenings, anniversaries… and sadly, funerals,” she says. “These people aren’t just clients, they’re friends.”
In an industry that can often feel transactional, that level of connection is rare. It’s why losing a practice still hurts. “When a practice leaves, I take it personally. I cry. Because I genuinely care.”
Dentistry then and now: what’s really changed?
Having spent 25 years on the frontline, Josie has a unique perspective on how dentistry has evolved and how, in many ways, it’s remained the same.
Obviously, treatments are more advanced, and technology has transformed how practices work. Also, patients are far more accustomed to paying privately than they were two decades ago. However, the fundamentals are remarkably familiar.
Dentistry is still built on trust. The dentist–patient relationship remains personal, intimate, and deeply human. Price and communication still matter. And despite long‑predicted reform, the NHS is still a source of uncertainty for practices.
One area Josie sees as a growing challenge is attracting and retaining younger patients. Many younger adults engage with dentistry only when they want cosmetic treatment, not ongoing care, which creates long‑term risks both for oral health and for practices themselves. Her advice, honed through years of direct experience is engage early, educate consistently, and make dentistry accessible, both financially and emotionally.
Still learning, still giving back
Having put in the hard graft, Josie could easily start winding down. Instead, she’s still sharing knowledge, mentoring colleagues, and supporting practices wherever she can. “I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give,” she says. That includes passing on invaluable insight about local practices, market changes, and patient behaviour. These are the kinds of things you pick up over years of being in the thick of things, not watching from the sidelines.
No regrets, just gratitude
When asked if she’d change anything about her career, Josie’s answer is categorical: “No. I’ve been incredibly lucky.” Although things haven’t always been easy, as there have been stressful moments, difficult conversations, and emotional days, Josie has no regrets because the work mattered, and the people mattered.
Over her career the work she has done and the incomparable support she has supplied has helped to change lives. To have been able to do that for 25 years is something worth celebrating.