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55 Gosforth Smiles is so called because it is at a Longitude of 55° North and we have the address of 55 Church Road.

The number 55 as well as being the largest Fibonacci number to also be a triangular number is specially pertinent for any Prosthetic Specialist Dentist. Prosthetic specialist will usually ask their patient to repeat the number 55, as a way of phonetic analysis of tooth arrangement and smile design. It is a test a Prosthodontist will repeat often.

There has been a successful dental practice at our site since 1933. The practice was originally set up by a very well regarded prosthetic specialist, Dr Alwyn Drakeford Hitchin. He was an academic scholar of considerable fame and repute and he was eventually appointed the Dean Of Dundee dental school in 1949.  His portrait hangs in Dundee Dental school and he is regarded historically as one of the fathers of its present day dental hospital. As Professor Hitchin wrestled with his new duties in Dundee the practice was passed to Dr Alan Morton. 

Dr Morton worked until the mid-1950's when he moved to Eastbourne to join the then Dental Estimates board where he he worked his way up from a simple examiner (approving treatments) to finally became a senior advisor, helping to set up a national governance system and checking the quality of treatment planning and work done by fellow dentists. This was in a newly formed department set up by Clement Attlee's government in the NHS.

On his departure, the practice then passed to his junior, John Moore, who originally hailed from Middlesbrough having been born there in 1918. Dr Moore worked until retiring and passing the practice to Dr Richard Grant in 1978.

Gosforth has bred many a local hero, Alan Shearer and Jonathan Edwards are perhaps its two most famous sportsmen and, of course, the North East was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The North East also produced a footballer who rapidly achieved legendary status as a "god", the indefatigable and hugely loved Sir Bobby Robson, who, incidentally, was a patient at the practice. Dr Grant fondly remembers Sir Bobby's as one of the nicest and most modest men he has ever met, a true gentleman and proud North Easterner.

Sir Bobby Robson with Dr Richard Grant as his patient, raising money for Cancer research.

Dr Grant was eventually persuaded to hang up the gloves and masks by the arrival of Covid-19 virus. The SARS-CoV2 pandemic added a vast array of problems in the ability to deliver high quality dentistry and in early 2020 he finally decided to retire from performing clinical dentistry. 

The practice then passed to Dr Navid Sarrami, a prosthetic Specialist, originally born in Iran and raised in Westerhope. A graduate and survivor of the awesome education systems of Chapel Park Middle and Walbottle High schools. With an undergraduate degree in Dentistry from Leeds University and post graduate MSc from Newcastle university. A member of the of Royal College of Surgeons of Dublin and also the Royal college in Edinburgh and member of the GDC's Prosthetic specialist list.

There is a rich history of patient care at our clinic for almost a century and I must thank Dr Grant for his knowledge of all the rich history of this practice. As a former patient and then a dentist and then an owner his knowledge is second to none, and on a personal level very entertaining to delve into.

We find everyday a privilege to work in the shadow of all our esteemed predecessors. The story so far is the practice started with a Prosthetic Specialist dentist, Dr Alwyn Hitchin, and it continues with a Prosthetic Specialist Dentist, Dr Navid Sarrami. There are only 400 prosthetic dentist registered in the UK, out of a total of 40,000 registered dentists. A happy coincidence or mysticism of fate?  I only wish I could afford the loyalties to Sir Elton so that I could have this page set to "Circle of Life".

We all look forward to writing the next chapter of history at 55 Gosforth Smiles Clinic along with all our patients. 

2021

1978