"Personally I see tattoos as a way of expressing oneself, a form of art..."

We've been wanting to facilitate some Q&A sessions with members of the different British Bengali community bubbles for sometime now but never really got round to arranging any; and with lockdown, it's been even more difficult to do so. Nevertheless, we persevered and we bring to you our very first Q&A session via conference call with a 'key worker', Dr Tapas Deb-Roy. In this piece, Tapas shares his experiences of grappling with Covid-19 in Dentistry, provides some useful insights into his 'side husstle' that is modelling, and the meaning behind all those tattoos!

What are you doing right now and how is Covid-19 affecting dentistry?

At the moment, I’m doing a lot of triaging over the phone for the NHS 111 service. For some reason I’m answering a lot of calls from Berkshire and Slough, and Newcastle and I’ve noticed more calls from deprived areas.

In-terms of the impact of Covid-19 on Dentistry, a lot changed in a very short space of time at first because, when Boris Johnson made the public announcement confirming that Dental practices would re-open, at the time it was quite clear that the dental community itself was not aware of this. In-fact, the Chief Dental officer’s team had only a weekend to put together the necessary protocols (hats off to them for moving so quickly on this!)! The outcome being that: to prevent the spread of Covid-19, we are heavily restricted on aerosol producing procedures, such as fillings and other procedures that involve the Dentist's drill. On individual practices, this restriction has had a significant impact as, usually, each practice would probably see 30/40 patients per day. But with the restrictions, this is now down to probably 10 patients a day; due to the revised procedures in place giving rise to wait times anywhere between 40mins to 1 hour between appointments that require the use of a drill. This is to ensure any aerosol generated is properly settled and surfaces thoroughly cleaned before admitting the next patient.

Cast your mind back to the months leading up to lockdown, what was your world like then?

Just before lockdown, I was transitioning into associate life and beginning to master the basics. I was treating high and low need patients and looking to progress to where I see myself in the future. I’ve noticed that modern Dentistry tends to be more around the cosmetic side of things, such as the increasing use of ‘Invisalign’, which are clear teeth aligners that are less invasive compared to ‘traditional’ teeth aligners. Overall, I’m finding the trend in Dentistry is more towards non-invasive cosmetic procedures, which is great for patients who are nervous/not keen on the ‘traditional’ invasive type of procedures that most of us experienced as kids!

Just like cosmetic surgery, cosmetic Dentistry can be lucrative, but I'm focused on looking for a good balance between what I enjoy, ethical practices, and finding a niche. Also, as a BDS I can practice Dentistry in New Zealand, Australia, and parts of the Middle East without any further training required. If I was a bit younger and if there was no lockdown, I may have explored working abroad a bit closer. Another thing lockdown has not deterred me from is my interest in carrying out some charity work in South Asia. I would like to do this when the time is right.

I’ve seen that you have done quite a bit of modelling work over the past few years, are you still doing it?

The short answer, yes, I’m still signed with 5 agencies across Europe.

How did you get into modelling and why? Why not a regular ‘part-time’ job like everyone else?

To be honest, I didn’t choose to do modelling - I didn’t wake up and think: “hey, I’ve got the face for modelling”, I just somehow fell into it. There was a charity fashion shoot at uni, it was called Asiana and there was a catwalk part of the show. I’m quite a reserved person by nature, but my friend persuaded me to do it. After doing the show, unexpectedly - lot of people complimented me and suggested I should consider modelling. So for a laugh, I decided to take a selfie with my phone and post it to my Instagram account with the hashtag: ‘#scoutme’. To my surprise, I was contacted by an agency. I did a couple of shoots, posted those and then was contacted by a bigger agency in Manchester.

At the time, for me, it was just a bit of exploration, but as I did an increasing number of shoots, I thought: “why not submit my pictures to agencies in Europe?” I did and somehow got signed!

Is it true there are many people in the industry who are ‘entitled’ and not the friendliest bunch of peeps?

People in the fashion industry are varied. I remember during one of my first shoots I was trying to make conversation with some of the other models. As I mentioned earlier, it was a bit of exploration for me - but for the other male models, to them I was competing for a job as this is what pays their bills, so not being casted could be emotional for them. Having said that, there were quite a few others, similar to me, who also didn’t take it too seriously. And then there were some absolutely gorgeous, stunning people - but they were not aware of how beautiful they were and didn’t even like looking at photos of themselves. So I guess I met all sorts. Of course, there were also some stereotypical arrogant and vein types, but lots of models that were down to earth too.

So tell me - who’s the most famous person you’ve met during photo shoots?

I met a Social Media influencer if that counts? He’s heavily tattooed with a Goddess Kali tattoo; Steven James who’s online persona is Elijah - quite well known in the fashion industry.

Now i’ve asked you why modelling - my next question is why Dentistry? I don’t really know anyone else in your British Bengali community bubble doing it, surly medicine is the well known and well trodden path?

At aged 18 I didn’t really know what I wanted to do; I wasn’t even thinking about Dentistry. I knew I needed to start with a generalist degree over a more specialised one so that I could mature first before specialising. I see a lot of young students who go straight into a specialist area such as Medicine and Dentistry and that’s great - but that would not have worked for me.

So I chose Chemistry and it enabled me to understand what my learning style was. At 17/18 i’m not sure I knew what my learning style was. I got to experience what it was like living away from home for the first time, and ultimately, it gave me the confidence to specialise in a particular area. So I got to the end of my Chemistry degree with a difficult decision to make: Medicine or Dentistry? There were a number of factors that influenced my decision. I mentioned niches earlier and, at the time, I didn’t know a single person that has done Dentistry in my community bubble, so that was quite appealing. I wanted to work with my hands and in the future, I saw myself in a business/entrepreneurial type role and I want to be my own boss. I learnt that Dentists, due to the nature of the industry, have to be entrepreneurial. Work life balance was also an essential consideration for me and I spoke to newly qualified medical doctors in my community bubble and they always seemed really tired and stressed. Seeing them, I wasn’t sure I would be able to work as a junior doctor in relation to the number of hours they are required to put in. Hats off to them. I also spoke to a good friend of my Dad’s, he’s always been a great influencer in my life. He’s a Dentist, he mentioned how stable it is as a career and I can see that he leads quite a comfortable life - he was also recently on the BBC News!

I’ve seen you grow up over the years and achieve some great things. Which people in your life have been your biggest support and your greatest influencers?

For people who have provided me with the greatest support? A bit of a cliche, it’s mum and dad. My dad’s a first generation immigrant. By our very nature, British Bengali, and ethnic immigrant groups in general see our parents struggle. We see them not have the opportunities to go to university as we do and we see them sacrifice themselves for us to pursue a comfortable life that they never had. My Dad, he immigrated to the UK in the 70s, endured racism up north and instilled the importance of education in me and how you can further yourself in life. Over the years I have learnt that I am a copy of my father and have a constant desire to be the best I can be, not competing with anyone else per se, but competing with myself. Just like him - I’m a workaholic, even during lockdown - all I could think about was “what’s next’.

What would be your key advice to aspiring dentists?

I am early on in my career so the advice I can provide is limited. But what I would say: if you are unsure of something, always ask. Especially during your training years. Dentistry as a degree is taxing and draining, it’s a marathon - not a race. So in your initial years, take it slow and a year at a time. I don’t think you should be in your room 24/7. You should ensure there is time to enjoy yourself and take a break. If you find yourself in your room 24/7, perhaps you should consider whether it’s for you and whether you would reap long term happiness from a career in Dentistry. But assuming it’s your dream job, make sure you get the fundamentals done and focus on yourself only. Don’t make the mistake of comparing yourself to others, just focus on yourself.

And what would be your key pointers to aspiring models?

Again, not sure how valid my advice would be as I didn't take it too seriously. But if you are interested: don’t splash out on an expensive portfolio. Bare in mind that no agency will have an expectation for you to do that. You could attend a ‘walk-in’ at one of the agencies you think they would be a good fit for you. At a ‘walk-in’, you literally go into the agency - they will take some shots of you. But, it can be a bit daunting for some and you need to be thick skinned as they can be quite blunt with feedback.

So an alternative to a ‘walk-in’ is just take some shots on a phone and send them through to the agency.

In-terms of what agencies are looking for - I think it’s difficult to say. But from what I have seen, they tend to look for guys that are at least 5’11” in height and girls that are at least 5’ 7”. Bare in mind though that this differs between agencies; and it’s not a complete hard and fast rule, you could be on the shorter side with intriguing features which could be a good fit for certain agencies. So I don’t think there’s ever any harm in trying.

I think it’s worth having a look at the models they recruit and check if they have a diverse range of models on their books, e.g. any from minority communities?

You could always try what I did and post a shot of yourself on Instagram with the hashtag: #scoutme and see what happens. Try and use Social Media to your advantage. Also with C-19, casting is now online with home shoots.

Last question. What’s up with all the tattoos?

I know right I have a fair few! I have a tattoo of India on my arm with the NE states highlighted; where my dad immigrated from to the UK. I have a tattoo of goddess Lakshmi on my right chest; also my mum’s name. I have a tattoo of goddess Kali on my inner arm which is a quintessentially Bengali representation of ‘shakti’. Finally, I have a piece of Yashoda and Krishna on my right arm, an identical image of the painting I had in my bedroom whilst growing up.

Personally I see tattoos as a way of expressing oneself, a form of art. Find a good artist and let them paint on your skin. Some people argue as you get older you’ll end up disliking them, particularly the way they sit on skin and the loss in colour. At the end of the day I believe in: "let there be no regrets!" Every tattoo is a reminder of one’s journey.

Any final words?

Yes, I definitely recommend travelling. I feel it was essential to my growth, learning from different communities, helping me see clarity in making life decisions. My trip to India literally changed my life!