NHS dentist patients in Wellington will start to be accepted next month by a new dental surgery opening in a converted industrial unit on the town’s Lowmoor Business Park, in Tonedale.

Health bosses confirmed at a meeting in Wellington Medical Centre on Wednesday (September 17) that the practice would start taking patient bookings in mid-October, with an official opening planned before Christmas.

As revealed last week by the Wellington Weekly, the new Wellington Dental Care surgery will be operated by DentistryForYou, part of the Harunani and Co Group.

The practice, which will create up to 12 new jobs, will also provide treatment for private sector patients.

NHS Somerset chief medical officer Dr Bernie Marden said: “We know the Wellington area needs improved NHS dental provision, so we are very pleased to see the new practice preparing to open its doors to local people.

“The opening is part of a package of measures we are introducing to improve access to NHS dentistry.”

Dr Marden said Wellington Dental Care had been commissioned to provide 20,000 ‘units of dental activity’ a year, with different levels of treatment ‘costing’ different numbers of units.

Wellington MP Gideon Amos said: “The country, and Wellington and Taunton in particular, desperately needs and wants to see our NHS put back where it should be.

“That was my main campaign in the General Election.

“So, I am delighted we have now got the result we wanted, a new NHS dentist for our area.

“A lot more needs to be done, but this is a great first step for the far too many who became locked out of NHS dental provision in recent years.”

DentistryForYou group manager Elizabeth Fernandez said: “We are delighted to be opening in Wellington and look forward to welcoming patients to the new practice.

“There has already been a lot of local interest, and we encourage those wishing to register to visit our website.

“Demand is expected to be very high, and while we will do our best to accommodate everybody, we may need to limit online expressions of interest if numbers exceed capacity.”

Both Wellington Dental Care and NHS Somerset will be contacting people in the Wellington area to encourage them to register an interest in the practice, with a leaflet drop expected to be carried out via Royal Mail in the coming weeks.

Anybody who wants to express an interest in booking an NHS appointment at the new surgery should visit DentistryForYou’s Wellington website.

Patients who are unable to access online services can instead call the practice on 01823 704001.

Ms Fernandez said the practice would not be accepting in-person registrations at the premises, and patients without a pre-booked appointment will be turned away.

The opening of the new practice brings to an end the ‘dental desert’ status of Wellington, which has been without an NHS surgery since 2021 when local dentists realised they could stop offering NHS treatment and make patients on their lists pay for private treatment or leave.