A GP in Merseyside has joined forces with a dentist to launch a new NHS dental practice which will cater for up to 3,500 people in Knowsley, thanks to the Department of Health's Dental Access Programme which aims to enable more people to see a dentist.

Origins Dental Care has launched as part of Knowsley Health & Wellbeing's work to improve access to dental care and is now accepting new patients at Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre.

Oral health in Knowsley is significantly poorer than the national average, particularly among the borough's younger population. Recent research by the NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme revealed that 56% of 12-year-olds in Knowsley have at least one tooth which is decayed, missing or already has a filling.

'I am delighted to be able to offer thousands of Knowsley residents the opportunity to access NHS dental services as we know local people have been struggling to gain access,' said dentist Dr Ravi Gollapudi, who will head up the new service. Dr Gollapudi will be working alongside GP Dr Sudhaker Khandavalli who has worked in the borough for 28 years and has helped shape the Origins Dental Centre service to ensure it caters for the specific dental health needs of people in Knowsley.