Open since 1959, run like it opened yesterday: the story behind your Fulham Road dentist

There has been a dentist on this stretch of Fulham Road since 1959. That’s the year of the first Mini, the first motorway. As of June 2026, Chelsea and Fulham Dentist still occupies that same address in the heart of South West London, which makes it one of the longest-serving practices in the area. The interesting part is what’s happened inside.

Because a practice can be old and tired, or old and trusted. There’s a difference, and it’s worth talking about.

Sixty-five years on one street

Think about how rare that is. Most local businesses don’t last a decade. A dental practice that has stayed put on Fulham Road for more than sixty-five years has watched the neighbourhood change around it, treated the children of patients it first saw in the sixties, and built the kind of reputation you simply cannot buy or fake.

That continuity is the foundation. But foundations aren’t the same as a finished building.

The version of the practice you’d walk into today was taken on by two co-founders, Dr Imran Sayed and Dr Dahlia Sunba, who both qualified in London in 2007. They inherited the name and the trust. Then they did something braver than coasting on it. They rebuilt.

What “taking it on” actually meant

Here’s the thing about inheriting a storied local institution. You can leave it exactly as it is and watch it slowly date. Or you can invest, and risk the character that made it special in the first place.

Dr Sayed and Dr Sunba chose to invest, and they did it carefully. The practice expanded, gaining a new reception area. Modern equipment went in. But the period detailing, the panelling and the ceiling roses that give the rooms their character, was preserved rather than ripped out. The result reads less like a clinic and more like a well-kept Chelsea townhouse that happens to have a dental chair.

Why does the look matter? Because for a nervous patient, the room speaks before anyone does. A space that feels considered, calm, and unhurried sends a message that the clinical care will be the same. It usually is.

A team you’d struggle to assemble anywhere local

A handsome room is one thing. The people in it are what count.

What sets this practice apart from a typical high-street surgery is the depth of the team Dr Sayed and Dr Sunba have built around them. Most general practices refer the tricky cases out. This one keeps them in-house, because it has the people to handle them.

Look at that orthodontist line again. Dr Sarah Akram is a GDC-registered Specialist Orthodontist, trained at King’s College London. In the UK, any dentist may offer braces, but only a clinician who has completed years of further training and sits on the General Dental Council’s specialist list may use the protected title “specialist”. That’s a meaningful credential, not a marketing word.

And Dr Biraj Patel limits his work entirely to endodontics, to the American Board Certified standard. A root canal done by someone who does almost nothing else, all day, is a different proposition to one squeezed into a general list.

Heritage and modern dentistry, doing the same job

So why keep banging on about the 1959 date? Because longevity and modern clinical depth usually pull in opposite directions, and here they don’t.

A brand-new practice can buy the best scanner on the market but cannot manufacture six decades of community trust. An old practice can have all the trust in the world and still be using methods that feel dated. This one has refused to choose. It has the trust of a name that’s been on Fulham Road since before colour television, and a team that includes a registered specialist, a board-certified endodontist, and dentists with master’s degrees and university teaching roles.

That combination is the whole point. You can read more about the people behind it on the practice’s meet the team page, where every clinician’s qualifications are listed in full.

What it feels like to be a patient here

Reputation is built one appointment at a time, which is how the practice has gathered more than 200 five-star reviews from people across Chelsea, Fulham, and Parsons Green.

The day-to-day experience is shaped by Dr Dahlia Sunba, who manages the whole patient experience as well as treating patients. Her view is simple: every touchpoint, from the first phone call to the follow-up after treatment, should feel personal rather than processed. The practice describes itself as family run, and treating others the way the team would expect to be treated themselves.

There’s also a formal credential underneath the warmth. The practice is Dental Phobia Certified, an accreditation specifically for caring for anxious patients. That matters to more people than you’d think, and if it sounds like you, the nervous patients page explains how the team approaches it.

From a check-up to a full rebuild, under one roof

Because of that team depth, the range of what can be handled in the building is wide.

• Routine examinations and hygiene, using Airflow polishing for stain removal
• Cosmetic work: smile design, veneers, whitening, and composite bonding
• Invisalign and specialist orthodontics with Dr Sarah Akram
• Dental implants, planned with 3D imaging
• Root canal treatment to a board-certified standard with Dr Biraj Patel
• Full mouth rehabilitation for complex cases
• Facial aesthetics alongside dental treatment

The advantage of all of that sitting in one place is continuity. Your records, your history, and the clinicians who know your mouth stay together, even when a case needs several pairs of hands. You can browse the full list on the treatments page.

FAQ

How long has the practice been on Fulham Road?

There has been a dental practice at this Fulham Road address since 1959, which makes it one of the longest-established in South West London. Its current form was shaped by co-founders Dr Imran Sayed and Dr Dahlia Sunba, who both qualified in 2007 and invested in expanding and modernising the practice while keeping its original period character intact.

Is it an NHS or a private practice?

Chelsea and Fulham Dentist is a private practice. That allows longer appointment times, a wider treatment range, and the in-house specialist input that gives the practice its depth. Membership and finance options are available to spread the cost of care, and the team will talk you through what suits you at your first consultation.

What makes it different from a normal high-street dentist?

The team. Most general practices refer complex cases elsewhere. Here, a GDC-registered Specialist Orthodontist, an American Board Certified endodontist, and dentists with restorative master’s degrees work under one roof, so most cases can be managed without sending you across London. The 1959 heritage and Dental Phobia Certification round out the picture.

Do I need a referral to be seen?

No. You can book directly as a new patient for an examination, a cosmetic consultation, or a specific concern. If your case later needs the orthodontist or endodontist, that referral happens internally, without you having to register somewhere new. The simplest first step is to call the practice or book online.

Where exactly is the practice?

It sits on Fulham Road in the heart of South West London, convenient for Chelsea, Fulham, and Parsons Green. The interior was expanded into an adjacent unit, blending modern equipment with preserved period detailing, so it looks unlike most dental practices on the road. Parking and transport details can be confirmed when you book.

What to do next

If you’ve been looking for a practice that feels established and properly looked after at the same time, this is a fair place to start. Book an examination and see the room, meet the team, and get an honest assessment of where your teeth stand.

Call 02030801000 or get in touch with Chelsea and Fulham Dentist. We’d love to welcome you.