Written by Gregory Gray, Monday 7 April 2025
The story of Jiva Dental begins—not in a boardroom or business incubator—but on a round-the-world ticket.
“In 2004, my wife and I put our house on rent and went travelling for a year,” Bob recalls. “We did six months in South and Central America, weeks in New Zealand in a campervan, then Southeast Asia. It changed how we saw everything.”
That trip didn’t just inspire wanderlust. It seeded the values that would become Jiva: interconnection, simplicity, sustainability. A belief that what you do for a living must align with who you are as a human.
“It made me realise how small the world is, and how connected we all are,” he says. “Opening a practice that wasn’t aligned with our values—ethical, environmentally conscious, human—it just wouldn’t have felt right.”
In 2007, Bob returned to Kingston with a vision. He found the location. He brainstormed the name. (“We had 100 post-it notes up on the lounge wall… Jiva, meaning ‘soul’ in Sanskrit, was the first and last we came back to.”)
Then came the hard part: turning ideals into operations.
From day one, Jiva Dental ran on deep green electricity. Its floors were made from sustainably harvested timber. Its X-rays were digital, its records paperless, its waiting room fragrance composed not of chemicals but calming incense.
It was the first carbon-neutral dental practice in the world. Not a gimmick. A commitment.
“For me, it was never about being different for the sake of it. It was about being authentic. The way we practice should reflect who we are.”
What surprises most people when they enter Jiva isn’t the calm music, or the muted lighting. It’s the absence of fear.
“There’s no hard sell here,” says Bob. “No pressure. Just conversations.”
That’s more than a slogan. At Jiva, nervous patients are invited into a non-clinical lounge for their first appointment. No chair. No bright light. No clipboard.
“Sometimes they don’t even make it up the stairs. I’ve had people in tears just walking through the door,” he says gently. “So we meet them as people first. We listen. We build trust. Then we move forward—if they’re ready.”
That philosophy—of slow dentistry, of relationship-first care—runs through every decision the team makes. Patients are shown their scans, emailed their photos, encouraged to take time before making choices.
“We believe in minimal intervention,” Bob explains. “But we also believe in maximum communication.”
Yes, Jiva Dental does Invisalign. Whitening. Smile makeovers. But it does them without vanity or exaggeration.
“We’re not in the business of selling a ‘Hollywood smile’,” he says. “We’re in the business of restoring dignity.”
Often, cosmetic treatments are just the visible part of a deeper transformation.
“There’s usually more going on in someone’s life,” he says. “They’re taking control. Changing things. And this—fixing their teeth—is part of that process. We just try to meet that moment with care and quality.”
Despite its soulful core, Jiva is far from retro. The practice is fully digitised. No physical impressions. Everything scanned, stored, and shared. Bob was an early adopter—not of fads, but of tools that enhance the patient experience.
“We’ve always tried to stay current without losing ourselves,” he says. “Technology should support care, not replace it.”
Jiva Dental doesn’t smell like a dental practice. It doesn’t sound like one. And, crucially, it doesn’t behave like one either.
Because it wasn’t born from a business plan. It was born from a life lived deliberately.
“We care about your wellbeing as much as your outward beauty,” reads the inscription on the surgery windows. And, if you sit with Bob long enough, you believe it.
He’s not building a chain. He’s not chasing growth. He’s nurturing a sanctuary. For nervous patients. For professionals under pressure. For women finding their smile again after years of hiding it.
It’s not just about teeth.
It’s about soul.
If you’ve been putting off your next dental visit—or waiting for the right place to begin again—Jiva Dental welcomes you. Whether it’s time to address something urgent or simply explore what’s possible, Dr Bob Bhamra and his team are here to listen, not lecture. Call 020 8546 0011 or visit jivadental.co.uk to arrange a complimentary consultation. Sometimes the smallest step can lead to the biggest change.
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