Rakesh Julka runs Butterfly Dental Solutions, a company that supplies dental clinics across India, and he spends his working life looking at dentistry from the side patients never see.
Butterfly Dental Solutions delivers everything a clinic needs, from consumables to digital equipment, and combines online ordering with local people who visit the practices in person. That position gives Rakesh a rare view: not one clinic, but how modern dentistry actually reaches patients in big cities and small towns alike.
We wrote to him because a healthy smile depends on what a clinic can offer long before the patient sits in the chair.
LOOKS treats appearance as a cultural and social subject. In a country as large as India, the question of who gets a good smile is also a question of geography, trust and money. Rakesh answered in English, at length, and with a story from a small town near Coimbatore that is worth reading slowly.
When a clinic in a smaller Indian city gets access to the same materials and digital equipment as a clinic in Mumbai or Delhi, what changes first for its patients?
The immediate change is the end of the geographic disadvantage. Patients get advanced treatment choices, better materials and a much better overall experience in their hometown, without travelling to a metro city. India has exceptional dental talent outside the big hubs. A dentist’s clinical skill does not depend on location, but the ability to use that skill at the highest level depends on access to modern materials and digital tools. Supply chains have historically favoured the largest cities. Dentists in smaller towns had to over-order and stock up months in advance, which locked up their working capital and limited what they could offer patients day to day. When access becomes reliable and on demand, workflows get simpler, treatment times drop and the standard of care rises to match any top clinic in the country. That is why we exist: so that a patient’s quality of care is determined by the dentist’s expertise, not by where the patient lives.
You combine digital ordering with local, personal service. What do dentists still need from a person, and not from a website?
A website makes ordering easier, but it cannot replace a relationship built on trust. Dentists need someone who understands their practice, helps them discover new solutions, gives honest recommendations and is there when problems arise. Sometimes they also need credit flexibility, which an online shop does not offer. Business in India is still built on relationships, and technology should strengthen them, not replace them. In our case the digital side handles ordering and delivery, and our local Business Associates bring knowledge, education and ongoing support. Technology makes the process efficient. People make it relevant and personal.
Which technology has changed Indian dental practices most in the past few years, and what did it change in the way patients are treated?
The wider adoption of digital dentistry, especially intraoral scanners and digital workflows. They have changed how dentists diagnose, plan and deliver treatment, above all in restorative and implant dentistry. Digital impressions are more comfortable for patients, and digital planning improves precision and coordination between the dentist and the laboratory. Patients also understand their treatment more clearly. Adoption still varies widely across India, though, and technology alone does not guarantee a better outcome. Clinical expertise, good materials and the ability to use the technology well remain essential.
Infection control is one of your main areas. How has the way patients judge a clinic, what they see and notice when they walk in, changed in India?
Patients have become far more conscious of hygiene since COVID-19. They notice how clean the clinic is, how instruments are handled, and whether gloves, masks and patient aprons are used. But infection control goes deeper than what patients can see. Sterilisation, surface disinfection and safe clinical practice matter even when they happen out of view. For a dentist this is a basic responsibility to every patient and every team member, not a matter of compliance or appearances. Patient confidence comes from knowing their safety is taken seriously.
What do Indian dentists ask for most often today, and what does that tell you about what their patients expect from their smile?
Dentists increasingly want materials that give predictable, aesthetic results without compromising function or long-term outcomes, from restorative and adhesive work to endodontics and implants. Patients are better informed than a decade ago, and social media has raised awareness of smile makeovers, whitening and veneers. They ask more about options, cost, comfort and how long results will last. But not everyone wants a cosmetic transformation. Many simply want to eat comfortably, to bite into a whole apple, keep their natural teeth and smile with confidence.
Which clinic or dentist that you supply changed the way you think about your work, and what happened?
I know a dentist practising in a small town near Coimbatore, where the closure of garment factories had hit the local economy hard. Despite this, he had built a world-class practice and stayed committed to quality care. What struck me was his conviction that every patient deserves to know their options. He would never judge what someone could afford by their appearance, so he presented every option and let the patient decide. He also held to his clinical judgement. If he believed an implant was better than a bridge, he said so, even at the risk of losing the patient. That stayed with me. It is the reason for what we are building: helping dentists get good materials and support wherever they practise. The most rewarding part of this work is knowing it makes a real difference to a dentist and to the patients.
A personal one: after years in the dental business, what do you notice first in a face, and has it changed how you see your own smile?
The expected answer is the smile, and honestly, that is true. It is the first thing most of us notice. But after so many years in dentistry I find myself looking beyond the surface: at how well a person has looked after their oral health, and how naturally and confidently they smile. Oral health goes well beyond appearance. Missing or crooked teeth may be something a person can live with, but neglect can have serious consequences: bone loss, headaches, jaw pain, even effects on general health. Function matters as much as aesthetics. This industry has taught me that a healthy smile is not about perfectly aligned or very white teeth. It is about oral health, function, and how a person feels about themselves. It has certainly made me more careful with my own teeth. But it has also taught me that a smile doesn’t have to be perfect to be attractive. The most appealing smiles are often the natural ones, the ones that reflect the person’s character.
Three things worth taking from this conversation.
First, the dentist near Coimbatore who would not judge what a patient could afford by the way the patient looked. It is the most precise sentence about appearance in the whole interview, and it comes from a supplier, not a philosopher. Second, the apple. Behind all the talk of makeovers and veneers, many people want something much simpler: to eat without thinking about it, keep their own teeth and smile without hiding. And third, the conclusion Rakesh reached on his own, after years of looking at mouths for a living: a smile doesn’t have to be perfect to be attractive, and the natural ones, the ones with character, are usually the ones we remember.
Butterfly Dental Solutions supplies dental clinics across India with materials, equipment and local support: butterfly-dental.com