Meet the team...
Dr Janet Barker
Principal Dentist
BDS MFGDP DPDS
Janet qualified with Honours from the Royal London Hospital in 1977 and has since completed two further Diplomas in General Dental Practice and Post Graduate Dental Surgery. As the practice principal, she places great emphasis on Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and all practice members are encouraged to undertake regular training courses. Janet has completed formal training in Dental Implants and now offers this treatment to our patients.
General Dental Council No: 51691
Dr Richard Mears
Dentist
BDS MJDF(RCS Eng)
Richard qualified from the University of Bristol in 2009. He returned home to the West Country and spent two years working in Cornwall. There he worked in a busy practice and as a Senior House Officer in Oral and Maxillo-facial surgery. He moved back to Bristol in 2011 and has been with the practice since July 2011. Richard covers the full range of general dental practice and has also trained in the Inman Aligner removable orthodontic system. He gained his Membership of the Joint Dental Faculty MJDF(RCS- Eng) in 2012.
General Dental Council No: 176997
Dr Chris Bell 
Specialist in Oral Surgery
BDS DPDS MSc FDSRCS
Chris graduated from the Bristol Dental School in 1980. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Faculty of Dentistry in 1984 and gained his Masters in Dental Science in 2002. Chris is a registered specialist in oral surgery and a full time member of staff at the Bristol Dental Hospital and Bristol Dental School, where he has a particular interest in Dental Implants. Chris has also worked in the Republic of Ireland for the past 12 years where he carries out regular oral surgery and implant clinics.
General Dental Council No: 54662
Dr Nichola Hird
Dentist
BSc BDS MJDF MFDS
Nichola graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BSc in Biochemistry in 2009 and then trained as a dentist at the Peninsula Dental School, graduating with a BDS in 2013. Prior to moving to the Bristol area, Nichola gained experience by working in general practice and in various hospital dental departments. Nichola began working at Combe Road in August 2016.
General Dental Council No: 244783
Anne Wynne
Hygienist
CEB Dip Dent Hygiene
Ann qualified as a hygienist at Bristol Dental Hospital in 1993 and has been with the Combe Road practice since 2005. Anne works with us on Wednesdays, Fridays and the occasional Saturday.
General Dental Council No: 4581
Paula Jay
Associate Hygienist
EDH Dip DH RCS(Eng)
Paula entered dentistry in 1994 after successfully replying to a job ad to become a Dental Nurse. She moved to London in 2002 to further her career to become a Dental Hygienist and has since gained much experience across general, private, hospital based and speciality practices. Paula has worked at Combe road on an associate basis since May 2016.
General Dental Council No: 6455
Nash Blundell
Dental Technician
Nash joined the practice part-time in August 2007 and worked with Janet to set up our dental laboratory. He joined us full-time in May 2008. Nash qualified at the Brooklands Technical College in 1980 and had his own dental laboratory in Bristol from 1992 prior to joining the team at Combe Road.
General Dental Council No: 118369
Joanne Barker BSc(Hons) RDN
Practice Manager/Registered Dental Nurse
Joanne graduated from Plymouth University in 2001 with a BSc (Honours) degree in Psychology. She later qualified as a Dental Nurse at Plymouth Hospital in 2003. She joined the practice in 2016 as our Sunday dental nurse, and then joined our permanent staff as Practice Manager in March 2017. She continues nursing on Sundays alongside her management role.
General Dental Council No: 134003
Sandra (Lu) Black RDN OHE
Registered Dental Nurse & Oral Health Educator
Lu qualified as a Dental Nurse at Cardiff Hospital and has adapted to the changes in dentistry by attending many courses to update her knowledge. As part of her CPD, she has qualified as an Oral Health Educator and a Support to Stop Smoking Advisor, and has gained a “Prepared to Teach Lifelong Learning Skills (PTTLS) certificate which enables her to teach within her own profession. Lu has been with us since 1995.
General Dental Council No: 110519
Trudy Stone RDN OHE
Registered Dental Nurse & Oral Health Educator
Trudy qualified with distinction as Dental Nurse in 1989 and gained her Oral Health Educator qualification in 1999. She joined the practice in 2002 and works part time as a Dental Nurse.
General Dental Council No: 109717
Carly Spink RDN
Registered Dental Nurse
Carly started dental nursing in 2005 and gained her qualification in 2007 while working in Clevedon. She has worked for the practice numerous times as a locum dental nurse and joined us as a permanent member of staff in May 2017.
General Dental Council No: 148104
Leanne Smith
Registered Dental Nurse
Leanne joined the practice as Receptionist and Trainee Dental Nurse in June 2016. Leanne comes from Portishead and attended Gordano School. She has previously worked as a carer at children’s nurseries and has enrolled onto a Dental Nursing Course with the Dental Nursing Academy to gain a National Diploma in Dental Nursing
General Dental Council No: 279259
Chloe Aitchison
Trainee Dental Nurse
Chloe comes from Portishead and attended Gordano School. She has been a dental nurse since 2015 and joined the practice in June 2017 after a break from nursing to have her son. Chloe is currently working towards her National Diploma in Dental nursing through in house training and online study.
Mary Chapman
Receptionist
Mary joined the practice in August 2017. She has many years’ experience as a Dental Nurse and Dental Receptionist and now uses all the skills she has gained to support the smooth running of our reception.
Rachael Harris
Receptionist
Rachael has lived in Portishead for 21 years and has been our Receptionist for 16 years. Rachael uses all her secretarial skills within the practice. Although Rachael has retired from full-time work, she will be back occasionally to provide additional cover for holidays etc.
Richard (Dick) Barker
Administrator
CEng
Dick is Janet’s husband. He works part-time as the practice administrator, looking after some of the paperwork and various maintenance jobs around the practice. He also works on reception occasionally to cover when other staff members are on training courses, on holiday or off sick.
