Neil Sands Neil provides an Endodontic (root canal treatment) referral service for local dentists. He has used an Operating Microscope for over 10 years, which is invaluable for Endodontic treatments. Neil graduated from the University of Bristol in 2004 and joined Beech House in 2008. He has completed a 3 year Master of Science in Endodontics at Kings College London, graduating with Distinction. He is a member of the British Endodontic Society and is unable to see routine patients due to providing this Endodontic referral service. He has completed his Level 1 and Level 2 CBCT training for 3-D x-ray imaging. Neil is one of the Partners at Beech House Dental Practice.
Sophie Buzzard Dr Buzzard is a Partner of the practice. She qualified at Bristol University and then started work in East Sussex and at Beech House in 2013. She is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow after passing her admission assessments. She has worked in Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton Hospitals as an Oral and Maxillofacial Doctor and also in the Special Care Dental Service. This has provided her with a high level of experience in Oral Surgery. Since graduating Sophie has completed a Master of Science in Primary Dental Care, graduating with Distinction. She is also undertaking a Diploma with the Royal College of Surgeons and the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners in Dental Implantology.
John Matejka Qualified at the Universtity of the Witwaterrand, Johannesburg in 1985. After completing two years of national service he was awarded a postgraduate research scholarship by the Medical Research Council of South Africa and following a period in dental research and teaching (37 publications in scientific journals) he returned to full time clinical dentistry. In 2000 he and his family moved to the UK and joined Beech House in Eastbourne in 2003. Outside of dentistry, John enjoys keeping up to date with the ebbs and flows of professional rugby and cricket. He is also a keen artist.
Vicki Groves Dr Groves went to school in Eastbourne and studied Chemistry as her first university degree. She qualified as a dentist from Cardiff University in 2019 and spent her foundation training year at a practice in South Wales. She enjoys treating anxious patients and is good at making patients feel at ease during treatment. Vicki is also able to provide Invisalign treatment to patients for clear braces, Vicki lives in Eastbourne and in her spare time volunteers weekly with Age UK and enjoys cooking, reading and watching live music. Although she now has a young son, so none of this is probably possible.
Penny Pantazi Dr Pantazi qualified from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece in 2009. She moved to Eastbourne in 2010 and has been working as a General Dental Practitioner ever since. Penny has undertaken an Invisalign course so is able to treat patients with clear braces. She is also currently studying for a Postgraduate Restorative dentistry course, alongside working full time. Outside of Dentistry Penny enjoys cooking, long walks and going to the cinema. She is an excellent baker!
Tobi Topliss Tobi studied dentistry at Cardiff University, graduating with Honours in 2020. After qualifying Tobi worked in general practice for a year and then worked for a further year as a junior doctor (Senior House Officer) in Torbay hospital's Maxillo Facial and Oral Surgery Department. He has since been working in private general practice in Devon. As well as being a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, he is also a member of the British Society of Restorative Dentistry. Outside of work, Tobi is a keen golfer and swimmer, which has proved invaluable when retrieving errant balls from water hazards.
Clare Hammond Clare qualified as a Dental hygienist from The Royal London in 2000 and has always lived and worked in East Sussex. She has a calm, relaxed and friendly manner to help put patient's at ease and she enjoys building rapport with her patient's to help them achieve good results with the oral health.
Wioleta Szostak Wioleta qualified as a hygienist in Poland in 2005 and joined the practice in 2009. She is very enthusiastic when it comes to patient’s oral health and encourages patients with all aspects of dental hygiene. She continues to achieve fantastic results with both her clinical skill and motivational oral hygiene instruction.
Jasmine Hughes-Davies Jasmine graduated with a Degree in Dental Hygiene from Portsmouth University. She first came to work at Beech House in 2015, when she trained to become a dental nurse. Having completed an Oral Health Education course alongside a Prevention in Practice, she went on to achieve a BSc (Hons) degree from Portsmouth University. She has a calm and kind manner.
Charlotte Johnson Charlotte qualified in 2017 with a Foundation Degree in Oral Health Science from the University of Essex. Charlotte is local to Eastbourne and works all day on a Thursday at the Practice. Charlotte takes pride in her professionalism and has an excellent rapport with her patients. She enjoys the cosmetic side of hygiene and can also offer tooth whitening services.
Kaz Nevin Kaz has been at Beech House over 25 years, joining in 1998 and now assists John Matejka. Kaz is our Senior Dental Nurse and Cross Infection Control supervisor. In her spare time, she is often busy with her grandchildren, campervanning or cruising.
Deirdre Bainbridge Deirdre has a wealth of nursing experience. She has worked alongside an Endodontist in America before joining Beech House in 2005. Deirdre assist the hygienist and John Matejka. When Deirdre is not in the surgery she is in charge of the stock inventory throughout the practice. Outside of work, Deirdre is an expert keen gardener.
Beth Baldock Beth passed her nursing exams to become a fully qualified dental nurse in 2019. She is a very popular member of the team and can also work on Reception. Beth is our Imaging Co-ordinator, which involves triaging referrals and taking 2-D and 3-D (CBCT) extra-oral images of the jaws. She completed further radiographic qualifications in 2023 to enable her to take these x-rays. Outside of work Beth enjoys yoga and spending time with her family and friends.
Charlotte Edge Charlotte joined the practice in November 2019 and has recently qualified as a dental nurse and assists Neil Sands. Charlotte is our Endodontic treatment co-ordinator, triaging all referrals to Beech House's Endodontic Service. She splits her week between nursing and working on reception. Charlotte enjoys assisting our endodontist with root canal treatments. When Charlotte is not at the practice she enjoys spending time with her pet cat and ten pin bowling, the cat hasn't lost yet. Charlotte is a die hard Coldplay fan.
Melissa Schaverien Melissa recently qualified as a Dental Nurse who works with Tobi and Penny and is a first aider at the practice. Melissa is enjoying the challenge of learning new skills and Dental terminology. When Melissa is not at work she loves to travel and can be seen walking her dog on the seafront.
Lily Hookham Lily is currently enrolled on a Dental Nurse course to become a qualified nurse. Lily is enjoying learning new skills and working in a large team. When not at work Lily enjoys reading and socialising with friends. She is currently right in the middle of her dental nursing exams, good luck Lily!
Magdalena Yadav Magda joined us as a qualified dental nurse and is the newest member of the team. Magda is enjoying working with different dentists and hygienists at the practice which makes her week more varied. Madga's calming nature makes patients feel at ease during their time at the practice. When Magda is not at work she enjoys a park run and hiking
Emilijana Bello Emiljana joined us as a qualified dental nurse and is one of the newest members of the team. Emiljana enjoys assisting Root Canal and surgical treatments and currently works with Sophie Buzzard and is one of our qualified first aiders. Emiljana's friendly nature makes the patient's feel at ease. When Emiljana is not at work she enjoys travel and spending time with her family. She is fluent in English, Greek, Albanian and Italian. She is currently learning studying Latin.
Rebecca Nicholas Rebecca joined the practice in 2010 originally as a qualified dental nurse and decided after 10 years of nursing to move to the administrative side of dentistry. After taking exams in Leadership and Management, Rebecca became Practice Manager at Beech House. Rebecca enjoys the challenge of organising a large team. When Rebecca is not at Beech House, she enjoys walking on the downs and dancing.
Jessica Hare Jessica joined the practice in 2005 where she qualified in 2007 gaining an NVQ in Oral Health Care. Jessica is now the Assistant Manager and is enjoys the role, but she still helps out with nursing when needed. She has two young children who keep her busy when not working hard at Beech House.
Lesley Harwood After qualifying as a dental nurse in 1978 Lesley worked in London at Guys and Kings College Hospitals as well as working with disabled children for Lambeth and Lewisham Area health Authority. Lesley joined Beech House in 1998 and is our longest serving member of the team. Lesley is now enjoying working on the reception desk and occasionally in the surgery. When not at Beech House she can often be found enjoying her hobby of semi professional dancing and spending time with the grandchildren.