Why can’t you live without your Castellini chair? Name the top reasons you love it
My Castellini chair is hugely impressive. Throughout my career, no patient had ever commented on a dental chair, but they do now I have a Castellini and it is so lovely - it makes me smile every time!  
One of the reasons is the comfort it affords them and me.  I am not talking about comfort in the simple sense of the word. Yes, there is an enveloping and relaxing sensation they express about the chair. But it is more about the fact that once the patient is positioned, there is no need to strain their head, the chair moves in all directions and I no longer need to ask my patients to reposition themselves. The head rest is unreal with its pressurised element to support the head. 
I love it that the chair also slides backwards and forwards so I can position it to suit my working position.  The functionality is phenomenal. Before I would have had to change or get extra equipment to use for implant treatments, endodontics or a root canal, but with the Castellini, it has different modes everything is built-in, so it is fast and efficient - it is ready to go for every treatment.  The X-ray functionality is also built into the chair, as opposed to being connected into the wall and it makes it a lot more practical and easy to manoeuvre. 
The chair light is also first rate: I have never had any illumination like this, the variety of settings are without parallel in my opinion, and I now don’t need to wear loupes. 
The success of a piece of equipment is often influenced by the comfort of the user, which is not negligible when you spend so much time in practice.
My Castellini makes my dentistry a lot slicker, and so much more intuitive, which means that I don’t have to worry about anything and concentrate on what I am good at.
I have to admit that I had a slight initial doubt when I made the purchase. Dentistry costs a lot and every time you inject money into the business, you want to get the value and return on investment. Now I can confidently say that I have experienced that ROI.  I am impressed and thrilled with my Castellini. It makes my dentistry more efficient and also has the wow factor, which is a bonus.

Why did you opt to buy a Castellini chair?
I inherited my first Castellini from a previous practice owner. The older version is still running. However, I have recently had three new surgeries built and the reliability of the Castellini was the main driver in me purchasing three new chairs; one for each.
The chair is smart and stylish, gives more comfort both for the dentist and patient and you know it won’t let you down.  

What do patients comment about the chair?
It is almost an ice breaker. We all hear about how to best communicate with patients and how it helps patients feel at ease. Well, I feel that my chair makes patients more engaged. They talk about the comfort and are impressed by its functionalities. The spittoon automatically coming to them is something they are most impressed with!  They feel like they are VIPs on a spaceship and they enjoy the experience, and I get happy, relaxed, more compliant patients. So it is a win win. 

How does the chair represent your style?
I love the comfort and style. I like treating people the way I want to be treated.

Your chair was a car; what car would it be? 
A Lamborghini

If your chair was a fashion design, what would it be? 
Louis Vuitton

If your chair was a watch, which would it be? 
Patek Philippe

What projects are you working on at present?
I am about to purchase two other sites; it is so exciting. My whole dental clinic revolves around providing Invisalign treatment, and the demand is growing - in fact people really want to look after themselves more than ever before; I guess it is the self-care syndrome after the recent lockdown. Patients value dental professionals so much more than ever and it feels so great to be appreciated and valued.

Dr Kunal Patel 

What model of Castellini Chair have you installed?
I went for the space age Skema 8 which was the top of the Castellini range in 2019.

How did you research the chair before you purchased it?
I had a fair idea of what was on the market having been to the massive Chicago Midwinter Meeting early in 2019 and had a thorough look around. Strangely, I found some of the top of the range, expensive flagship chairs really uncomfortable. Lots of electronics but almost board-like seats. If I couldn’t tolerate 20 minutes on it without feeling uncomfortable then this was not going to be good for my all-day patients. 
Conversely some of the most comfortable chairs were at the cheaper end of the market but were not necessarily very well built. Lots of padding but lacking solidity. 
I felt that the Skema 8 which was recommended to me by Peter Higson of RPA looked the part. I had a Castellini when I first started out in practice in Highgate in the early ‘90s and its had always attracted attention for being a good-looking and comfortable chair. Of course, that isn’t everything so I had to try it out. Michael Norton very kindly gave up his time to show me around the Castellini he had had installed in his practice, and having spent some time lying in it, I felt that the memory foam upholstery and overall ergonomics of the chair suited me. I liked it so much, I ordered one!

Why did you opt for a Castellini?
I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the Castellini had both the stylish looks and the solidity of build, and felt quite substantial to stand up to the day-to-day rigours of a busy dental practice.

Which features prompted you to consider a Castellini chair?
It kind of had everything! Chair comfort and the ability to effortlessly lift 20 stone are important these days. It certainly looked beautiful and the stylish carbon fibre detailed black and gloss white complemented the white of my surgery. Whilst I loved my old A-Dec Radius its beige tones had started to look dated. 
However, I was especially impressed with the sophisticated electronic control panel and the ability to program in different users’ preferences as well as fine control for endodontics and implant work. 
In addition, the automatic sterilisation system which had just come out when I had my first Castellini in the early ‘90s had now been upgraded and it makes my nurses job considerably easier as well as ensuring a uniform disinfection of the entire water system.  The treated water bottles are large and well supported and asked for a good duration, a change from the Achilles heel of the old A-Dec which relied on the screw thread to hold the bottle which often got damaged and led to air leakage requiring replacement of the bottles on a regular basis.

Are there features on the chair which also make your DCP’s work easier?
The auto sterile system is very useful to save time and make chair sterilisation more efficient.  The extensive button controls also the nurses’ side do allow a greater degree of control. However as stated above the lack of movement of the main module on the nurses’ side does restrict their space more than my previous unit.
The tiltable headrest that allows the patient’s head to be rotated left or right is especially useful during long surgical procedures where nurse’s visibility is improved by a patient’s head posture being maintained.

Does the chair reflect your professionalism?
Yes. We normally get comments that the chair is space age and comfortable for long periods. Full day patients are quite routine in our practice in the chair is the centre of attention. When you enter the surgery the chair looks clean and modern in gloss white with a stylish black carbon fibre detailing and in keeping with the standards of our practice. 

What do patients say about the chair?
Long-standing patients who have known the old chair and the new chair comment on how much more modern the new one looks. We have not had any complaints about the comfort of the chair and the memory foam is a good thickness and width to ensure that patients are well supported. There is always a balance between making a chair plush and comfortable yet keeping the bulk down so that access is easy and I think that this has been achieved nicely. 

If your Castellini chair was a car, which car would it be?
Tough one. I bought a BMW i3s this year in the same black and white colours and blue trim which I enjoy driving immensely. It’s smooth, quiet, nippy, agile and fun. I would say the two are comparable. However, I’m not sure what a Lamborghini or Ferrari dental chair would look like! Bright red with higher revs on the handpieces maybe?

Dr. Koray Feran

Dr Kevin Dobbs runs the Dental Academy in Daresbury Cheshire, which accepts referrals from over two hundred dental professionals across the North Western of England, for all the major dental specialties including orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics as well as advanced restorative dentistry and implantology. To enable the Academy to service the needs of all the referring professionals, Dr Dobbs has assembled a highly qualified and experienced team of clinicians, each with a special interest in a particular aspect of dental care.

“The first thing you want as a dentist is go into work and know that your surgery is in good working order. We started off with just two surgeries and now we have six and I am installing my tenth Castellini chair this month.  We have been loyal to the brand for the last 20 years. Of course it is a bonus to love the design appearance of the chairs, but what matters most for us is the reliability of the units. 

I would say that the Castellini chair has evolved rather than changed fundamentally over the years; it is roughly the same design - which has always been contemporary and ergonomic. However, we have seen more and more features appearing, it has become more technologically sophisticated, but is still simple to operate. “

Customised for every operative

“Castellini is great because it gives you the ability to customise your unit to suit your individual needs. The range is wide and there a unit to suit each need, so our hygienist has one which is different from the one our dentists use, and his is also different from our surgical colleague’s chair.

Whichever bit of equipment you need at hand, whether it is an ultrasonic scaler, an apex locator, a surgical handpiece for implant placement, a specific camera, you name it, it is possible to incorporate the features you want into the unit, making it fully functional for each operator, and intuitive to use.

And of course for my work, the hand pieces are very easy to control and the new overhead light is incredibly good, in fact probably the best I have used so far. 

From a cross infection control viewpoint, even more so now with Covid-19, I am very impressed by the ability to clean down the units. The cross-infection features are exceptional, but this has always been the case on Castellini and one of the reasons I selected this brand in the first place. There is a very reliable and certificated cleaning. / disinfection system which ensures my airline and waterlines are maintained at optimum levels each and every day. The Anti-Retraction features on all the air systems ensure no draw back of contaminants between patients, which in today’s world of cross

Comparing My Castellini

"If my Castellini units were cars, I would compare them with Tesla as they are very functional, ergonomic, neat, with a very clean line. I would compare the units with a solid Rolex if they were a watch.  When you purchase a unit, you need to know it is going to last a long time, that it will stand up to a lot of wear, and will give you value for money. My Castellini gives me all that, and its reliability gives me peace of mind every day.” 

Dr. Kevin Dobb

Why can’t you live without your Castellini chair? Name the top reasons you love it

Everything I need is integrated into my Castellini chair, from an implant motor to an external camera.  It is really technologically advanced and really comfortable - from what my patients tell me - in comparison to other chairs in other dental practices. It feels great to offer that level of comfort to my patients and I appreciate the positive feedback too. The aesthetic of the chair is also very appealing.

Why did you opt to buy a Castellini chair?

When I was practising in Italy, I had a Castellini chair, a previous model to the one I have installed in my Bristol practice. I am Italian and Castellini made sense when I came to the UK. It is the main Italian brand for dental chairs in my country so it was an easy choice. The previous model had already given me full satisfaction as a surgeon and a positive experience for my patients.  Besides, the distribution in the UK is carried out by RPA and both the support and attention to detail they offer are second to none so I feel I can confidently use it and if anything happens, I am reassured that I will be sorted immediately.

The Castellini chair has an app which is somehow linked to the engineer, so if anything does happen, the engineer can log in and assess or sort the fault remotely. Alternatively, the engineer can diagnose the issue before his visit to the practice, and that means that the problem is half solved when he comes to the door, and it is also a quick fix too as he does not have to identify the fault from scratch. That is in my view totally unique to Castellini and RPA and I am thrilled by their level of service!

As a dentist, having a Castellini chair is very important. The main one I use is the top of the spectrum one and I use it mainly for teaching in my dental academy. It has a built in camera and I can carry out live surgery and have this projected so people I am training can follow.

As a specialist practice offering complex treatments, we absolutely need to ensure we arm ourselves with the best tools that are possibly available to us in order to deliver a high level of dentistry.

What do patients comment about the chair?

As I said earlier, the feedback from patients is very positive. They all say it is very comfortable. They cannot appreciate the technical components of the chair but they do see the high technology built into it and they very seem impressed by it.

How does the chair represent your style?

Having an Italian chair represents my style as an Italian dentist. It is top quality like other Italian products for high end consumers.

If your chair was a car, what car would it be?

A Ferrari as it is so high end!

If your chair was a fashion design, what would it be?

It would be Gucci. High end but available for everyone.

If your chair was a watch, which would it be?

Audemars Piguet

What projects are you working on at present?

We never stop and we are working on several extremely exciting new projects at the moment. I am setting up a dental suite in a medical and plastic surgery centre in Bristol; I have set up a teaching academy called Delta Dental Academy which includes live surgery; and I am in the process of expanding into a number of other practices in the South West. 

As part of the Queens Square Dental Clinic and Delta Training Academy, I have set up a unique showroom/training centre which was completed in March 2020.  The centre piece is Castellini Skema 8 and Tao Line Dental Art Cabinets.  I have since expanded into another site with Castellini Skema 6 Cart and am currently due to be the first UK owner of the all New Puma Eli Modular Ambidextrous unit which arrives in November 2020.

Dr. Alfonso Rao

Why can’t you live without your Castellini chair? Name the top reason you love it

I love my Castellini because of the sheer range of equipment options available for it. I love the fact it is very well designed for someone performing oral surgery, and the fact that it is very well designed for stripping down and decontaminating to ensure complete cross infection control.

Why did you opt to buy a Castellini chair?

In order of importance to me was first and foremost its safety features - particularly those relating to decontamination and cross infection control. The auto sterile feature and the fact that all the handles, bits and bobs come off and can go into the autoclave, that for me is the key thing - the number 1 reason and all the more pertinent now!  Number 2 was the equipment itself - the sheer range of equipment options available is impressive.

The legacy of the brand is also very important to me.  I bought my first Castellini chair in 1997 and I have always been one of the first to buy the new, top end chairs from Castellini. In fact, I was often involved with them in testing out the chairs for the company. Back in the 1990’s the company produced a chair called the LOGOS chair. This had an integrated cardiac monitor which was a really useful feature for me as I perform a lot of treatments under sedation. It also had an integrated auto-sterile system which has continued to be available through the years of Castellini, and has since been copied by other chair manufacturers.

As a practice that specialises in treating patients with implants, it was great all those years ago to be able to buy a chair that had an integrated implant motor with torque control - in fact Castellini was one of the first companies to provide a chair with an integrated implant motor. Along with the implant motor, it also has a facility to deliver sterile saline through the chair. It is now a common feature on a lot of chairs, and ideal for people like me who perform a lot of implants, but Castellini was one of the first to offer that integrated facility for implant surgery. And given my position as an implant surgeon, that was a big selling feature for me. My respect for the brand stems from that time.

Do patients comment about the chair?

They certainly do. A lot of patients will comment on the fact it looks very high tech. As things have developed over the years with integrated computer screens and digital technology, they have noticed how high spec and high tech the chair looks. The chair is such premium quality - so they often comment on how nice and new it looks.  It is such an integral part of my treatment outcome so of course I also take great care with it, so it looks well-kept too.

How does the chair represent your style?

It is a very good question as it does reflect my style!  It reflects my style on a number of levels. First and foremost, the safety and the cross infection control. I am a bit OCD when it comes to maintaining a clean working area. So it reflects me in that respect. I think I am probably quite well known for my very high tech approach to implant surgery. So you have to have the best equipment to undertake that kind of work.  When patients, or other practitioners, have been to my surgery, they comment on how unique it looks.  It has been applauded by so many different visitors.  The practice has a very high end design and obviously you want a chair that has the beauty and aesthetic appeal that fits in with a beautiful practice. The Castellini chair complements that very well.

If your chair was a car, what car would it be?

It would be a cross between a Ferrari and a Volvo. The beauty of a Ferrari and safety of a Volvo.

If your chair was a fashion design, what would it be?

I would say Ermenegildo Zegna. A historical fashion house, also Italian, that boasts a century of success in the precious woollen fabrics sector and in luxurious menswear.

If your chair was a watch, which would it be?

A Patek Philippe

What projects are you working on at present?

I am always undertaking clinical studies in the practice. My publications in the implant literature are well known to anyone in the implant world. I am about to embark on a new study hopefully, at the end of April. I have just received approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and have ethical approval for it. This is going to be a study involving 15 patients, and has the potential to totally revolutionise implant dentistry. I am working with a company from Boston which has a completely new concept in the way you place an implant, which will not only be relevant to oral surgery, but it actually has huge potential relevance to orthopaedic surgery. Anything that involves bones: repairing bones, fractures, placing implants - whether they are dental implants, or whether they are hip or knee replacements.

This product has the potential to completely revolutionise the field. My clinical trial is the first in-human clinical trial outside America and is only the second in-human clinical trial ever. I am very privileged and very excited to be undertaking this and will be excited to report the findings in due course.

Dr. Michael Norton