From his early days selling dental implants to running two thriving practices, Dr Brandon Kapf’s journey into dentistry has been shaped by a love for surgery, an appreciation for teamwork and an unexpected shift from city life to small-town community.
“I only half joke that I went to dental school really so that I could do surgery and do dental implants,” he says. After years working alongside periodontists and maxillofacial surgeons, Kapf decided he didn’t want to stay on the sidelines. At 28, he began pre-dental studies, entering Melbourne Dental School at 30 and earning the affectionate nickname “Grandpa” from his younger classmates.
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Graduating in 2015, he split his time between a prestigious Collins Street practice in Melbourne and a clinic in Deloraine. It didn’t take long to realise where he felt most at home. “In Melbourne, I was just on the treadmill,” he recalls. “In Deloraine, I was seeing my patients around town and feeling like I had an appreciation for the work I was doing.” By the end of 2016, his family relocated permanently.
Today, Trusted Smiles operates in Westbury and Hobart, employing around 20 people. For Kapf, building the right team has been central. “The core strength of delivering a really good service for a patient rests more so in having an excellent team than in having the world’s most exceptional clinicians,” he says. Patients now know not only their dentists but also receptionists and nurses by name, many of whom have been with the practice for years. Kapf views this as proof of the deep ties formed within the team and with the community.
Running a dental surgery, he explains, comes with challenges few patients consider. “Dentistry is procedural and there’s a big capital investment,” he says. He recalls signing off on expensive equipment loans early, not knowing whether the practice would survive. Support from the local community, however, ensured a strong start. His philosophy was to invest in top-tier equipment from the outset, confident it would deliver the best health care over the long term.
In its early days, Trusted Smiles relied on word-of-mouth and even door-to-door letter drops. Now, complex surgical and reconstructive work draws patients from across the state.
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The opening of the Trusted Smiles Hobart clinic was driven partly by patient demand. A third of surgical and rehabilitation cases already came from the south, so it made sense to offer ongoing care closer to home. The new site includes general dentistry and a fully equipped theatre, a rare asset in the city’s crowded surgical landscape. Kapf hopes to share the facility with other dental professionals once it is running smoothly. While Launceston and the north of the state have sufficient surgical facilities for dental work, Hobart does not, which makes the development of such a theatre in the south a significant advantage for patients and practitioners alike.
The Meander Valley benefits from having skilled health professionals within the community, with practices such as Trusted Smiles showing how quality care can go hand in hand with a well-run local business.
The work has brought moments of humour, such as a nurse wearing a giant tooth costume at the Trusted Smiles grand opening almost a decade ago. And moments of profound reward, watching patients regain their confidence through improved oral health. “To see the moment when somebody goes from hiding when they smile to a big, broad smile and light back in their eyes that’s probably the most rewarding side of it,” he says.
Kapf credits much of the practice’s success to his family, especially his wife Jasmin. “I would not have been able to do what I have done professionally without the support of a really strong and independently very successful woman,” he says. His three daughters have been part of the journey from construction to weekend visits. A plaque at the entrance acknowledges that support.
Away from work, he finds grounding in Tasmania’s high country. Introduced to fly fishing by an anaesthetist friend, he admits he has yet to catch a fish, but treasures the solitude and scenery. “Never have I been in places where you look around and see no evidence that humanity has ever existed. I just love it,” he says.
