Five Years of IAD Lisbon

5 years of IAD @Costa da Caparica

Five Years of IAD …And in a glimpse… five years have flown by.

Here I am, at Costa da Caparica — after a perfect sea bath, a great meal, and a chilled glass of rosé — reflecting on a journey that started not just with ambition, but with passion.

Five years of true joy doing what we love most. Dentistry, for us, has never been just work. It’s been a playground. A purpose. A place to express the best of what we are.

Our starting point was rocky — a legal battle just to open our doors in Lisbon. But as Lizette Ryley once told me, ".....and you never looked back."And she was right. I never did. Instead, I’ve kept my eyes on the horizon — on the future of dentistry — always searching for the next innovation, the next challenge, the next evolution. There was no time to look back.

Some say we’re good because we have all the tech. Others credit our education. Some even say it was just luck. But it has nothing to do with it !

I’ll never forget what one of my former professors once told me, right to my face: “You’re only successful because I chose you. It could’ve been anyone. Anyone would’ve succeeded no matter what.”

In other words, that "gentleman" basically believed that .....my talent, my work, and my dedication had nothing to do with it. Success was just luck. Some sort of "Lucky to be there...."

Maybe it is, maybe it isn´t, who knows ,...... maybe for some would be a right argument but not for me, i totaly refuse the idea that someone can control the way I am and completely can rid out individual resilience of the equation ...... what I know is..... we kept fighting and fighting and fighting.....to be at the top.

That argument would probably shake and disturb someone else. But not us.. we stayed focused. We fought to be here. And here we are.

....Because it was always meant to be. Success was made out of determination and consistency.

The will to be there, the will to fight for every case, the will to do the best we can.

We built IAD on transparency, on respect, and on a circle of real friends and colleagues who speak the truth, not half ......

We made the walls, but the walls didn´t make us.

Five years of trust. Five years of friendship, respect, and relentless work. Five years of consistency.

So here’s to everyone who made IAD what it is. We know exactly where we’re going. We know the road. We have the talent, the technology, the heart, and the will to go further.

So let’s raise a glass. To the first five years. And to the next ten — even better.

Cheers

Here's to 10 years more