Alison Cane

On a day to day basis I manage our team of Clinical Leads and Practice Managers who in turn support the dentists, therapists, and nurses at the Smile Together locations for which they are responsible. I am there to deliver operational management for our clinical services as well as development and leadership to these key operational roles and their teams.  I work closely with our clinical leadership team and tackle any day to day issues as they arise.

In my role I am responsible for supporting the Clinical Leads and Practice Managers across the business to ensure we are providing quality care for our patients. I oversee the delivery of all dental services (including NHS and private dentistry) to drive service improvements. In my role I am continually finding new and better ways of delivering patient care and reaching out to support local community initiatives.

I love problem solving and would say this is the most fun aspect of my role. I also enjoy the operational side of what I do as, as each day brings new tasks and challenges. No two days are alike, making my work engaging and dynamic.

Effective Communication is critical in my role, keeping everyone informed of changes and developments is crucial and this can be challenging when you’re head down delivering what’s needed.

I began my career in dentistry at the age of 16 as a trainee dental nurse at a small dental practice in Penzance, and I stayed there for the next 18 years! Having been a little naughty as a child eating rather too many sweets I had a lot of dental work in my early teens – I think this is what gave me my interest in dental nursing. I left the Penzance practice to take up a Lead Nurse position at Plymouth University’s Peninsula Dental School in Truro when their new Knowledge Spa facility opened. After 5 years there I came to work for Smile Together (PCH Dental as it was until 2016) as the Team Lead Dental nurse for the west of the county. I enjoyed the management and operational side of this role and as those responsibilities grew, I reduced my frontline clinical delivery until in 2017 I took on the role of Clinical Operations Manager and then further moved across to the commercial and operations team of Smile Together as Clinical Innovations Programme Manager to drive further enhancements in patient care and social impact, contributing to Smile Together’s mission of tackling oral health inequality.

In July 2024 I took on the role as Services Manager. I had missed working with the more operational side of things and with our wider clinical teams and the business as a whole. Having had the opportunity to work across different areas of Smile Together, my experience and knowledge gave me the confidence to move into this Service Manager position. I am enormously grateful to Smile together for supporting and encouraging my career development.

What inspires me most about Smile Together are the people I work with. Everyone is willing to go that extra mile for our patients. To anyone considering working for Smile Together I’d say come and embrace the opportunity – you never know where it will take you! You can read more about my career here.

Outside of work I love visiting new places, walking my dog, trying new restaurants and catching up with friends.