How It All Started – Meet Your Dentist in Ruabon

By Dr John Barclay | DRJB Smile Clinic, Ruabon, North Wales

3D Scan | Whitening | Composite Bonding | Veneers | Invisalign

👶 It Started in 1984 — In Our House

When people ask me how long our clinic’s been running, I say:

“Since 1984… technically from our living room.”

My Mum and Dad built the original surgery from scratch — not in a rented unit or business park, but inside our own house.

The study was the surgery, the living room became the waiting room, the kitchen was the lab, the decon room, the stock cupboard, and the tea station.

Mum was the receptionist, hygienist, decorator, and accountant (dentistry wasn’t quite as regulated back then).

Dad was the dentist, plumber, fixer, and everything else.

And me?

I was the baby in the waiting room — literally.

Sat in my high chair, raking in 50ps from patients like some miniature receptionist with charm. (Adjusted for inflation, I’m owed a small fortune.)

The chair marks are still engraved in the parquet floor. And to this day, the smell of developing fluid still takes me straight back to that kitchen–slash–lab–slash–brew station.

🛠️ Growing Up in a Dental Clinic (and Sleeping in the Waiting Room)

After 18 months, the surgery moved next door into the old doctor’s surgery — which meant we got our house back.

Sort of.

Since I was a baby, our weekends and holidays weren’t for lie-ins or beach trips.

Me and my little brother were:

Painting surgery walls

Tiling floors

Carpeting cupboards

Digging up concrete

Fixing suction units

And once — lugging a dental chair up a flight of stairs and around two tight corners (never again).

I didn’t want to be a dentist back then.

I wanted to be a volcanologist and chase lava around the world.

How it all started - 1984 (According to AI)

However, when university forms arrived, something drew me back.

Dentistry was suddenly on the list again.

So I tested it the best way I could:

I spent my 6-week summer holidays nursing alongside Dad, who (very cleverly) tried to put me off by throwing me into blood, vomit, and hard work.

It backfired.

I absolutely loved it.

🧬 The Long Way Round

I didn’t get into dental school the first time — because I missed the final page of my A-Level Biology paper (yep… 20 marks gone).

So I did a degree in Physiology first, then got into dental school.

Honestly? No regrets.

I got 8 years of uni, played hockey, made lifelong friends, and discovered that the human body is amazing.

I even did a year of MaxFax (maxillofacial surgery) — and that was an education in itself.

Happy not to see dog bites on the neck again, or sleep on the floor waiting for the bleep to go off at 3 am, or stitch drunks back together in the wee hours…

But I learned a lot.

And I still use that knowledge to this day — especially when understanding how dentistry fits into the bigger picture of health, trauma, and recovery.

It also reminded me that I really, really liked teeth. And not working through the night!

🧑‍⚕️ Full Circle: Returning to Ruabon in 2013

I did my foundation year in 2011 with Dad — because I knew I could ask any question and never feel stupid.

In 2013, I came back for good.

By 2018, Mum and Dad retired. Mum skipped off into the horizon, while Dad did a 3-day week, then a 1-day week, and now finished for good!

Everyone shed a tear or two, or three.

(Although if you know my dad, you’ll know he’s busier than ever — not quite sure how they ever ran a business on top of that.)

Now I’m the one:

Treating patients who used to hand me 50ps

Running the practice they built

And getting babysitting flashbacks from Andrea and Helen, who looked after me and my brother when we were toddlers.

(Yes, I still remind them — even now I’m over 40.)

🔧 What’s Changed (and What Hasn’t)

Dentistry’s moved on.

We’ve got:

Digital scanners

Microscopes

Magnification

3D imaging

Instagram and TikTok

And a LEGO astronaut named Captain Apex filming his own reels on YouTube

But some things haven’t changed — and I hope never will:

We still treat patients like family

We still believe trust matters more than trophies

We still value listening more than talking

And we still believe a warm welcome and honest advice go further than fancy lighting

We don’t want to sell you a smile.

We want to help you build confidence — your way, if ethically possible.

🧠 What I’d Tell That Kid in the Waiting Room

I’d tell him not to worry about that biology paper.

I’d tell him that sometimes the scenic route is the right one.

And I’d tell him that one day, this place would still be something special:

A clinic full of patients who feel like old friends.

A team that feels like family.

And a blog that isn’t afraid to talk about the real stuff — even if it started in a high chair next to a steriliser in 1984.

Looking back now, I never imagined I’d become a dentist in Ruabon — but this is where it all started.

And the smell of the dentist, for me, is like walking back in time to being hugged by my parents.

👉 Want to See It for Yourself?

Come visit. Ask questions. Sit in the chair.

Or just stay in the waiting room for now — we get it.

📅 Book a relaxed consultation

📚 Or keep exploring the blog:

🗓 Book Your Free Smile Scan & Consultation

📞 Call us: 01978 823490 

📧 Email: wrexham2-tco@mydentist.co.uk

📍 Visit: Start Your Smile Journey

To speak to our brilliant TCO team — Faz, Angie, or Hannah — to book a scan and chat.

Looking back now, I never imagined I’d become a dentist in Ruabon — but this is where it all started.