A city dentist has revealed plans to take on more than 200 new NHS patients.
Dr Zain Shamoon, the owner of Friends Dental Practice in Sprowston, has purchased the adjoining building in Wroxham Road and applied for a change of use as part of his plans to increase capacity for both NHS and private dental treatment.
The move would allow the surgery to take on more than 200 new NHS patients and recruit three new dentists - bringing the total to 11.
"We know people in the community are struggling to get dental care on the health service," said Dr Shamoon.
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"We currently get around 20 emails a day asking if we have space.
"This expansion would allow us to take on hundreds of new patients. We will also make our car park and waiting room much larger.
"We've got three dentists lined up and they're ready to join our team.
"But this can't happen unless Broadland District Council give us permission to expand.
"So this is all dependent on them."
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The move comes amid warnings from experts that Norwich and Norfolk have become "dental deserts" - with statistics revealing just one NHS dentist for every 2,600 people living in the region.
A 2022 report from the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) found just 36pc of adults had seen a dentist in the two years prior and a low percentage of children in the area had seen a dentist in the previous 12 months, at 34.9pc.
Dr Shamoon said: "It has been very difficult to keep dentists on the NHS.
"Many have gone private because of the money.
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"So I've had to ensure I'm paying my staff well and looking after them. We're all very happy here.
"We have lodged these plans because we want to do something for the community.
"Hopefully the district council give us the green light. If not, I will have to go back to the NHS and say we can't take on these new patients."
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