Plans for the expansion of a dental surgery have been approved amid warnings of Norfolk becoming a 'dental desert'.
Two new rooms will be developed at Mulbarton Dental Surgery, with the practice being enlarged via a single-storey rear extension.
The private healthcare service, which is located just off The Common, has been given the green light by South Norfolk Council on the condition that work begins by June 2026.
READ MORE: Norfolk and Waveney among areas worst hit by dentist shortages
The practice previously provided NHS services in Mulbarton but stopped those services in October 2021, going fully private due to frustration with NHS "bureaucracy".
Many across the county have resorted to private dentistry after struggling to register with NHS practices.
A study from the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) found Norfolk and Waveney to be among the five biggest "dental deserts" nationwide - with just one NHS dentist for every 2,600 people living in the region.
The 2022 report revealed 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.
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