Inside Dr. Ashkan Pitchforth’s Playbook: Creativity and Excellence Behind South Cliff Dental Group’s Rise

When Dr. Ashkan Pitchforth remembers the moment he decided to buy his first dental practice, it is not the bank balance or business plan he remembers, but a short conversation at his family home. “My late nan said, ‘People will forget you, but they will remember a name. Become immortal,’” he says. Two weeks later, she passed. On April 1st, 2015, just a few months after her death, he took out the loan and bought the practice that would become South Cliff Dental Group.

What began as a modest, people-driven venture has grown into a thriving network of 24 sites across southern England, strategically located within a two-hour radius of his headquarters to ensure he can stay closely connected through regular visits. “I would never buy a practice where I can’t get to it, because I want to be able to visit them and stay involved,” he explains. The proximity, he says, is part of how he enforces standards: systems and visits, not distant oversight.

That combination of personal conviction and operational rigor is central to Ashkan’s approach. He did not set out to be a dentist. He was an “arts kid” who, at 11, designed a wristwatch-style personal communicator, a prescient sketch of what would later become the smartwatch. “My mum turned around and said, ‘You need to forget the idea of being an artist. Be a doctor, dentist, or barrister,’” he recalls. He chose dentistry because it allowed a kind of creative practice within a professional career he could build into a business.

That early design instinct evolved into a different creative muscle: system design. Ashkan studies problems by writing them down, then writing the solution and working backward. “If you look at the problem, you are never going to find the solution. You have got to always look at the solution and go backwards,” he says. The result at South Cliff is an emphasis on repeatable systems, processes that ensure the same patient experience whether one walks into a branch in Hastings or near Gatwick.

Growth has not been accidental. From modest beginnings in 2015, the group has grown into a wide-reaching enterprise with a substantial workforce and significant financial success, milestones that have earned it recognition in industry rankings and on prestigious award stages.

South Cliff has collected industry plaudits, including Scale-Up Entrepreneur Of The Year. “For the first five years, I reinvested every penny back into the practices,” Ashkan says. “Focus on building something meaningful. Don’t chase money. It will follow.”

His leadership is bluntly ambitious. “I’ve never been one to settle for second,” he admits. That competitive spirit drives his strategy, with fashion-inspired project names reflecting bold ambitions to elevate the group’s value and impact. Yet the drive comes with acknowledged cost. He speaks candidly about the sacrifices, missed concerts, emails at midnight, missed family moments, and deeper losses, including relationships strained by work. “You have got to love what you do,” he says. “If you love it, you will be successful.”

Innovation sits beside scale in his priorities. Ashkan is rolling out AI and automation to make the patient journey more seamless. It’s not to replace the human touch, but to surface signals that allow staff to react with empathy. “It’s about improving the patient journey, to make sure everything is smooth,” he explains. That blend of tech and trained, friendly staff is how he addresses one of dentistry’s chronic problems: fear often rooted in poor communication.

He’s not done. Offers to sell the group have come and been declined. The plan is to keep building, refining systems, and leveraging technology to both scale and deepen quality. “Build something that lasts,” his nan urged, a sentiment Ashkan has turned into a business that aims to be remembered not only for revenue, but for a reputation people trust. “I love the business of dentistry,” he says. And that appetite for design, discipline, and durability is what turned a schoolboy’s sketch into an entrepreneurial legacy.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.