Wolverhampton dentist reflects on half century of fixing smiles as he prepares to retire
A long-standing dentist who has provided white smiles for generations of families is getting ready to call it a day.
Martin Titley will be hanging up his dental drill and spoon excavator after more than 50 years at Titley Darby Dehal & Associates in Wolverhampton on November 30.
The 82-year-old has been a continued presence at the dentists on Stubbs Road since joining the surgery in 1968, having learned his trade in hospitals in London over three years.
Martin was born at the Beeches on Tettenhall Road on February 7, 1941, and said he hadn't initially grown up wanting to be a dentist, but had wanted to be a rugby player.
He said: "I wasn't particularly interested in dentistry when I was younger, but I had a cousin who did it and, I suppose, that interested me a little bit.
"It was actually orthodontics, which I had to go to Birmingham in order to get done, which pushed me in the right direction."
Martin said he had then gone to look at universities for his studies and ended up going to the University of London where, he said, 15 minutes of the 20-minute interview had been about rugby and spoke about how his interest in dentistry had developed while there.
He said: "What was happening was that they wanted to know if I could relate to other people and talk to them and I had that interest in rugby, so that helped me.
"I enjoyed being a student as I enjoyed the company and lectures and it was when I got to the practical work, doing things with my hands and I got really good at it and really involved.
"There was a man called Robin Brett-Day, who I did a house job for, and all the nursing staff thought he was god, so I was his houseman and he was superb and really got me interested in dentistry and surgery, in particular."
Having qualified in 1965 as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Licenciate of the Royal College of Surgeons, Martin held roles in hospitals in London, as well as a role as patient dental officer at Guys Hospital.
He said he had begun to look more at practice work as he felt that in order to progress in hospitals, he would have to wait for years and, as he put it, "walk into dead man's shoes".
Martin said: "The patient dental officer role was a big role, but I would have been waiting until 40 years old before the right role came along, so I looked at practice.
"Everyone said that hospitals were where you saw the most interesting and difficult stuff, and there were some great doctors and dentists.
"However, to grow in hospitals and be there a long time, there is a lot of politics, plus it's not true that it's more interesting as you get referred someone, you do the job and that's it."
It was while doing spells back in Wolverhampton with Gordon Pamely at what is now the practice on Stubbs Road that Martin found his calling as, in 1968, he and his wife Jane, whom he married on the same day as the 1966 World Cup final, were looking at moving to Wolverhampton.
He said: "When I decided I was going back to practice, I'd got married in the meantime and called Gordon to let him know I was coming back to look into practice and to put the word out, to which he said 'Well, what's wrong with me?', so I came here.
"At the time, he only had half the building, so he had two surgeries downstairs and I had one upstairs, meaning we could see more patients, then when the other half of the building came on the market, he offered me a partnership and I helped him buy that half, then we could plan to expand."
Over the last 55 years, Martin has been providing dental care to the wider community, as well as becoming an appointed member of Wolverhampton family health service authority and chairman of the local dental committee and British Dental Association section.
He said the thing that had made it all special for him had been the patients and staff at the surgery.
"The patients are why I'm here now and why I work, as they are fantastic and make such a difference to hospitals as you see them time and time again and build a rapport with them," he said.
"Dentistry has moved on from then I started, but I've had a wonderful professional life and hobby thanks to the continual support of my wife Jane, Guys Hospital, Robin Brett-Day and the loyal patients and loyal staff."
Martin sold the practice to David Dehal in 2008, but stayed on as a dentist which, he said, was a relief to be able to do, and said bringing the curtain on his career was now the right time to do so.
He said: "I still love doing dentistry, but it's about time and, in some ways, I could retired when I sold the practice, but it's the right time now.
"My plans are to spend more time with my wife and get back to driving my cars as I love rally cars, and while the reactions aren't what they used to be and I can't do the competitive motoring like I used to do, I still enjoy that.
"I sold this practice to David Dehal and he's done all the things that Gordon and I originally dreamt up and refurbished the surgery, with new wiring, plumbing, ceiling and everything.
"I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been here as it has been a pleasure having you as my patron over the last 50 years."
