Summer 2025

Goodbye Charlie 

At a wonderful garden party at the end of June, more than 150 patients, friends and colleagues were able to celebrate Charlie Killick’s retirement from general practice.

With splendid musical accompaniment from The Salisbury Big Band, and delicious home-made scones, the whole occasion was a fitting tribute to a remarkable career.

Sadly, arthritis in his thumb joint has brought about Charlie’s retirement from general practice a little sooner than he had planned. However, guests were able to reflect on a brilliant career. Beginning his dental journey in the Royal Navy, Charlie then studied and taught at Guy’s Hospital before moving to The Chequers Dental Practice in Salisbury in 2000. Whilst practicing, Charlie dedicated himself to further study, achieving a rare double-specialism in Endodontics and Prosthodontics. As a result, more than a hundred dentists from across the region referred complex cases to Charlie’s care over the decades.

In 2019, Charlie moved to The Borough Dental Practice in Downton where he has practiced for the last six years – years he declared to be among the happiest of his career.

Charlie said:- “Despite the challenges of Covid shortly after my arrival, my time at The Borough Dental Practice has been wonderful. It has been a pleasure to work with such a dedicated team of brilliant practitioners and support staff and in a really first class and beautiful clinical environment. I would like to thank Jenny and her team for their friendship over the years and also working so hard to give me such a lovely send-off last weekend.”

“Finally, I would like to thank all my loyal patients, many of whom have followed me around the Salisbury area. It has been my pleasure and privilege to care for you over the years. I am sorry my thumb has necessitated my early retirement but I am delighted that you are in safe hands and thoroughly recommend Richard Budworth with whom my patients have been placed.”

Charlie spent the first few days of retirement on his sailing boat and has also bought a campervan, with potentially a new puppy arriving at some point too! We wish Charlie and his partner Kate every happiness for the future.

Sophie joins The Borough as Care Coordinator

At the Practice, we are constantly trying to improve the service we offer to our patients and address areas in which we think we could do better! Top of the list was how quickly we were able to answer the telephone, and avoid voicemail ping-pong!

So earlier this year, we recruited a brilliant new Care Coordinator, Sophie Albery, whose main responsibility is to answer the telephone. If you have rung the Practice since Easter, it is likely that Sophie has answered your call!

Sophie now answers the vast majority of calls to the Practice and is an expert at organising the appointment book to help patients get timely care at their convenience. Please don’t hesitate to call Sophie if there is anything she can do to help. She is very friendly and approachable. We are also now able to take calls at lunchtime, except on a Wednesday.

We have also invested in a state-of-the-art new phone system with call queuing, meaning patients should always be able to get through to us, even if it takes a minute or two before we can answer. You can still leave a voicemail if you prefer! Please let us know how you find our new system by emailing laura@nulltheboroughdentalpractice.co.uk.

Out-of-Hours Care

After nearly 500 weekends on-call since she opened the Practice in 2013, Jenny has finally decided it is time to get her weekends back, and be able to travel more than 2 hours’ drive away from home without having to plan cover six months in advance! So since January, 2025, The Borough Dental Practice has been partnering with a specialist 24/7 dental company, who provide emergency dental care day and night.

Jenny said:- We have worked really hard for over a decade to provide out-of-hours emergency care to our patients. However, emergency dentistry has changed over the years with the growth of specialist emergency providers. This has led to nearly all private practices now partnering with them to provide emergency care. ‘The 247 dentist’, with clinics in Southampton and Poole, provide excellent 24-hour care which is actually more access than we were ever able to offer. It means my own team can have a full and well-deserved weekend off to ensure they are fresh and ready to provide our outstanding service during the week. We have emergency slots available every weekday, with additional slots on a Monday for anyone who has developed a problem over the weekend. If a dental problem or pain cannot wait until Monday, then simply ring ‘the 247 dentist’ (number on our website and answerphone) and they will normally be able to offer you an appointment within just a couple of hours.”

Shona off on Aussie adventures!

We were sad but also excited for Shona to wave her on her way to Australia!

Born and bred in the Downton area, Shona joined the Practice in 2023 as a dental nurse.

However, while fond of Downton, Shona always harboured a dream of travelling and, with our encouragement, took the plunge to head down-under at Easter time.

It has been wonderful to see her photos come through as she explores this amazing country and culture!

We wish Shona all the very best for the future.

Welcome to Alex!

We are delighted to introduce Alex, our new visiting endodontist! Originally from Spain, Alex has been living and practicing in the Winchester area for the last decade or so, after moving here from Edinburgh where she met and married her husband. Alex has been a general practitioner for more than 20 years, during which time she has also undertaken extensive post-graduate training, including completing a Diploma in Endodontics at the prestigious Eastman Dental Institute in London. She now works predominantly in endodontics, her area of special interest, and will be offering referral services to both our own patients and to local practices too.

Welcome Gabby too!

Gabby Wilson joined us in April as our new Dental Nurse/Receptionist to replace Shona. Gabby is a super-experienced dental nurse, having worked in private Practice in Romsey and Bournemouth. Gabby is already a popular and invaluable member of The Borough team. We feel very blessed that she has joined our Practice family!

And welcome back Tash!

It has been lovely to welcome Tash back to the Practice after maternity leave. And she’s back with her normal sense of fun and adventure!

Tash recently celebrated a special birthday and, shortly after being pictured with little Rosie and partner Charlie, took to the skies on this fabulous Tiger Moth, for a crazy wing-walking experience!

 Richard settling in well!  

As patients will recall from our building works, 2024 was a busy year preparing for the arrival of Richard Budworth. We are thrilled to report that Richard started with us full-time in January and, as expected, has quickly proven to be a brilliant addition to the team. In building a 4th surgery and welcoming Richard to the Practice, we have once again been able to open our practice to new patients and we have been delighted to welcome more than 800 patients to his book.

Richard said:- “I cannot believe it is just six months since I started at The Borough Dental Practice! It has been an absolute joy. My brand new surgery is fantastic, packed full of the latest equipment to enable me to provide the best service possible to my patients, and in a beautifully calm and relaxed environment. My patients are loving being able to watch nature programmes on the overhead screen whilst receiving longer treatments! The team are fantastic and the whole practice is set up to provide a high quality, friendly and ethical dental service. It has been lovely to welcome new and familiar patients to the Practice. I couldn’t be happier with the move I have made!”   

Indeed, with the transfer of Charlie’s patients to Richard, he may well need to close his book later in the year to new patients, so if you have friends or family who are interested in joining the Practice and Richard’s book in particular, please do suggest that they join sooner rather than later.

Happy Summer time!

We hope you are enjoying your Summer and this lovely weather. Here is some of our team at the Salisbury Races in June during a team day-out in the sunshine!

With best wishes,

Jenny