Nearly 2,000 patients have already flooded through the doors of Bury St Edmunds Dental Centre, in Kings Mews, since the practice opened its doors in March.

Clare Banyard, head of primary care at NHS Suffolk said the trust had funded the new £350,000 dentist in Bury after an assessment showed a lack of provision in the town.

She said: "Bury was an area that was particularly low in dental health care provision.

"I am very proud the new practice is up and running. It looks absolutely fantastic and it's somewhere that, hopefully, patients will enjoy coming to."

In August last year, only 18 of Suffolk's 83 NHS dental practices were accepting new NHS patients, 10 of which were in Ipswich, while a national survey in 2007 showed provision of dentists in the East of England was so bad some patients had resorted to treating themselves.

Last year, NHS Suffolk pledged £1.3 million to improve access to dental services across the county throughout 2009/10, with a further £500,000 for orthodontic care.

Steve Williams, regional manager of White Cross Dental Care, which operates the new surgery, said: "It is fantastic to be up and running and it is good for Bury.

"There hasn't been access to NHS dentistry here for a long time and the demand so far has been really good."

With two treatment rooms, a specialist sterilising room and a designated X-Ray area, the centre still has capacity for further patients.

Dental practitioners Claudia-Simona Indries and Shiva Aronvi are joined by two nurses and practice manager Becky Davey to run the centre, which was officially opened by Carole Taylor-Brown, chief executive of NHS Suffolk, on Monday.

Mrs Taylor-Brown said: "We are investing money throughout the county and people are beginning to see that when we say we are going to do something, we do it."

Patients who want to register at the new practice should contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0800 3896819.


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