I arrived in Canberra in 1988 and began working as an assistant dentist for Dr. Ted Weissel at Lyneham in 1991. 

Over the pursuing 18 months I familiarized myself with the practice, and built up a core clientele of just over 300 before purchasing half the practice from Dr. Weissel. Experience from working in other public and private practices enabled me to formulate a long-term vision for the practice; fortunately that vision materialized, albeit very gradually, over the following 20 years.