Meet The Team
Uzma Ahmed
Clinical Director and Principal Dentist | GDC: 81118
Uzma qualified from King’s College London in 2002 and was a House Officer both at King’s and in Guy’s Hospital, working in Oral Medicine, Special Care dentistry dealing with phobic patients and Restorative Dentistry.
Having completed her MFDS with the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2005 she was in general practice in the south of London and Kent from 2003-2014 and also provided emergency dental care for the Croydon Primary Care Trust for 9 years. She took over Merrygate Dental Practice as principal dentist and practice owner in 2014, relocating to Brockenhurst with her family. Uzma achieved her Masters in Clinical Dentistry with King’s College, fixed and removable prosthodontics with distinction in 2018. This was a degree in advanced dental care, cosmetic dentistry, crowns, bridges, dentures and implants and care of the elderly and dental phobic and nervous Patients. In 2021 she re-qualified in intravenous sedation for adults with dental phobias and is currently completing her diploma in endodontics (root canals).
Most recently Dr Ahmed has been appointed clinical tutor by King’s College and works on their behalf teaching final year dental students in a broad spectrum of clinical dentistry in Portsmouth University Dental Academy, where she supports them throughout their most challenging year upto their graduation.
Uzma has a strong academic background, combined with over 20 years of clinical experience in which she prides herself in approaching her practice with empathy and pain-free dentistry. Uzma is interested in providing excellent quality dentistry for her patients in a comfortable environment.
Karina Winderam
Associate Dentist
Dr Karina Winderam is an award-winning dentist who graduated from Kings College with Honours. Upon completion of her degree in dentistry (her second degree, having previously attained a BSc in biomedical sciences) she was ranked 2nd in the country out of the 1053 dental students graduating that year.
Karina grew up in Milford-on-Sea and her studies have taken her overseas to Singapore and Vietnam. She has a passion for general dentistry and particularly enjoys looking after people of all ages. Karina especially enjoys treating children and has a warm, friendly demeanour.
Karina hopes returning to the New Forest will start the beginning of a long and successful career in general practice here at Merrygate Dental. She has already expressed interest in further developing her root canal filling skills and enjoys practising all aspects of general practice.
Outside of dentistry Karina is an avid sportswoman, playing tennis to a high level and coaching in Bournemouth in the past and also enjoys running. She has completed several half marathons and is currently training for a full one.
Rafae Ahmed
Non-Clinical Director
Rafae is a qualified lawyer from Pakistan and did his law conversion in the UK from University of London. After working as a legal advisor for several international hotels in Pakistan, Dubai and England, Rafae became the co-owner of the practice in 2014 and looks after the non-clinical aspects of the practice such as the compliance, policies, advertising & marketing, HR and more. He is always available to discuss any ways in which we can improve the services we offer.
The only time he isn’t available is in the summer when he will be found with his friends playing for the Brockenhurst Cricket team or helping his daughter in the All-Stars cricket.
Michelle Mercado
Dental Hygienist
Known for her gentle and kind approach, Michelle is available to provide hygiene services at the practice on Mondays. She is particularly good with phobic patients and likes to build her patients’ confidence as she carries out treatment and gives advice to optimise oral health. She has a calm and gentle nature, and her aim is to ensure patients have a positive experience within the dental environment leaving patients feeling comfortable and relaxed during treatment.
Originally from the Philippines, Michelle is a qualified dentist and has worked for many years in Hampshire as a dental care professional before starting her hygienist career.
Michelle lives locally with her husband and three children and enjoys cooking.
Lee Taylor
Lead Receptionist
Lee was a dental nurse 25 years ago and joined our team as a dental receptionist in 2015. Lee is available several days a week and is happy to help you with any queries you may have regarding your treatment. Having been at the practice for many years, she is a warm and familiar face and knows many of the patients as she has often been an important part of their dental journey. She is very good at gauging whether a patient is feeling anxious and is always careful, not only to put their minds at ease, but to make sure the rest of the team is on hand to make your journey a comfortable one.
In her spare time, she decorates wonderful cakes and enjoys long walks with her dog, Milo.
She is always happy to co-ordinate your appointments or pop the kettle on if you would like to come in and have a chat with one of our clinical staff.
Natasha Chant
Dental Nurse
Natasha qualified as a dental nurse in 2010 with the NEBDN national diploma level 3 in a local practice. She worked at Merrygate for several years before taking a hiatus in 2013 to concentrate on her family. She is a local girl and has returned to the practice in early 2024, where she has the flexibility to continue to look after her 3 children and also work in a practice she is very familiar with. Natasha is a softly-spoken, very caring and gentle nurse and we look forwards to her building up her days here at the practice in the future.
Natasha enjoys a range of fitness activities including; swimming, cycling and working out at the gym.
Ibraheem Ghafoor
Assistant to Non-Clinical Director
Ibraheem lives locally and is studying Medicine in Southampton University. He helps with admin work, including updating the practice policies, filing documents, and making a cup of tea for anyone that wants one!
Ibraheem has always had a passion for reading, and his favourite books include the works of Virginia Woolf and Sartre. He grew up in South London and moved to Dubai at the age of 9, learning multiple languages there in addition to his schoolwork, including Mandarin and Arabic! Ibraheem has a special interest in dementia and wrote a paper on the challenges with diagnosis and hopes in the future to make a real impact in this field.
His travels have given him a kind, tolerant, and understanding personality, and he is particularly good with children who fear the dentist