Dentist Brendon Ball looks back at 31 years’ of helping people smile

From The Archives with Link founder Roger Ogle

When newly trained dentist Brendon Ball made the long journey to Britain from his native New Zealand in the mid-1970s, he spent some time studying an AA road map and plumped for Swindon because it was ‘sort of in the middle.’

After setting up a successful business in West Swindon and a home in Wiltshire, he retired at the end of 2016, returning for a surprise party on 14 January attended by former patients and staff at Freshbrook Dental Practice.

Brendon worked as a dentist in Penhill when he first arrived, but his intention was always to set up his own practice.

He said: “I quickly became aware of Swindon’s growth to the west and saw an opportunity to provide dental services. Council planners first suggested a site in Toothill but then directed me to Freshbrook Village Centre which was on the drawing board.”

Anybody who knows Freshbrook centre will have wondered why there is a bright blue tall triangle of a building at its midst, but Brendon is keen for people to know it was not his choice.

“The planners at Swindon asked me to provide three proposals and I drew the layout floorplan to fit the plot and my architect came up with two conventional designs, and we stuck in a third throwaway idea,” he said.

“We were dumbstruck when they chose the triangle and also advised the colour it should be; it was something about making a building memorable so people could navigate the suburbs.”

When it opened in Cottington Close, the practice quickly acquired a large patient list. At the time the maximum NHS charge for dental treatment was £14.50. But a week after moving to the new building at the village centre in 1985, NHS subsidy for dental work was slashed and patients were faced with treatment charges of up to £115.

“That was a very rocky time because suddenly patients stayed away in their droves,” said Brendon.

“The financial pressures on people were enormous because mortgage interest rates had hit 17 per cent, which is unbelievable today.”

However patients started to return after a few months and while Brendon started wholly within the NHS, in 1996 after continuous changes in NHS treatment levels, he decided to make the practice a private provision, offering a discount rate for patients’ children.

Brendon explained: “For me, the service was not about satisfying numbers. My patients were more family rather than clients. Perhaps being so far away from home in New Zealand made me more connected with the people coming to see me.”

Brendon and Link magazine have been closely connected since he arrived in Swindon and in 1998 he read an article about the work of the charity Dentaid in Ukraine which was providing surgical help to children born with a cleft palate.

Brendon made his first trip with medical supplies to Ukraine in support of Dented in 1999. He discovered treatment was given without pain killers and found almost no dental health advice.

He quickly set up his own charity - Smile Menders - with plans to help improve dental services in the country. Now, after seven trips to supply materials and provide training to local dentists, he says the difference is huge.

“Our contact with senior dental staff and government people has eased access to the country and we are now highly regarded in the Cherkassy region.”

Three of the trips involved delivering redundant dental caravans and a mobile dental truck donated by local health authorities. It meant services could be taken to remote parts of Cherkassky which is the size of Wales. Brendon and Smile Menders’ volunteers had to equip each mobile surgery, insulate them against the harsh winters in Ukraine, and he had to purchase right hand drive tow vehicles.

Brendon jokingly blames Link magazine for helping his marital status after he met and fell in love with his translator Natasha, on his first trip to Ukraine, whom he married in 2000.

They will continue to visit Ukraine as Natasha’s mother still lives there.

“It’s been a privilege to look after such a nice group of patients in Freshbrook,” said Brendon.

“Some have been with me since I arrived in Swindon and I’ve been the dentist for three or four generations in some families. I received some lovely cards of appreciation before I departed at the end of December.”

Freshbrook Dental Practice is now in the ownership of practice manager Jayne Hall, which has delighted Brendon. “I was honoured that Jayne decided to take on the business; she has considerable experience in dentistry and knows the needs of patients. Chris Richards continues as a dentist in the practice and I’ve met Webber Emile and the other part-time dentists who are arriving to replace me.”

Apart from his charitable work, Brendon is rediscovering his passion for motorcycle restoration. He is planning a trip to the Isle of Man TT races this summer and is considering a visit to New Zealand.