Hello — I'm Zara.
I'm a private and cosmetic dentist, and looking after nervous patients is the part of this job I care most about. Not a sideline — the reason I set this up.
The clinical part is the easy half.
Most of what makes a dental appointment bearable has very little to do with teeth. It is whether you were listened to at the start, whether you knew what was about to happen, and whether you believed that saying "stop" would actually stop it.
That is the part I have deliberately built my practice around. Over five years — three of them in private practice — I have seen how much difference it makes when someone who has avoided the dentist for years is given time rather than a lecture. People who arrive apologising tend to leave surprised.
So the appointments I run are longer than they strictly need to be, we agree a stop signal before anything starts, and nothing gets done to you on a first visit unless you ask for it. If that sounds slow, it is. It is also the only approach I have found that actually breaks the cycle.
Where I trained, and who holds me to account.
You are entitled to check any of this. Every dentist in the UK has to be registered with the General Dental Council, and the register is public.
NHS emergency lists to private smile makeovers.
The variety matters more than it sounds. Emergency work teaches you to be quick and calm; private practice teaches you to take the time.
I spend a lot of my own weekends on courses.
Dentistry moves. A qualification from 2021 is a starting point, not a credential you coast on — so here is what I have actually done since.
- Oral surgery — Dr Chris Waith, 2026. More complex extractions, handled in-house.
- The Complete Aligner Programme — 2026.
- Mini Smile Makeover — 2026, an intensive two-day composite course.
- Invisalign Go certification — 2026.
- Ethical communication — Ashley Latter, 2024. How to discuss treatment without pressure.
- Advanced Dental Seminars — Dr Chris Orr, a year-long restorative course, 2023–24.
- Facial aesthetics — Dr Bob Khanna, Modules 1 and 2, 2023.
- Totally Composite — Dr Monik Vasant, Fresh Dental Institute, 2022.
In progress right now
Onlays with Dr George Cheetham, veneers with Dr Sandra Garcia Martin, and endodontics with Dr Kreena Patel.
Horses and a rescue dog.
I ride competitively, which is a useful reminder of what it feels like to be nervous about something and do it anyway. The rest of my spare time goes on long walks with my rescue dog.
I mention it only because people find it easier to talk to a person than to a set of qualifications.
Ask me something before you commit to anything.
You do not have to book, and you do not have to phone. Two lines about what worries you is plenty.