Sainsbury’s is to be the first supermarket to offer an in-store dental service.
It opens next Monday (15 September) at Sainsbury’s Sale store in Manchester, and aims to provide professional, cost-effective treatments by a team of experienced dental practitioners.
The brand new, modern, purpose-built private dental surgery is housed in the store, close to the pharmacy.
It will operate seven days a week and offer the same services as a regular dental practice including check-ups, fillings, scale and polish, hygiene and whitening.
The practice is the brainchild of Dr Lance Knight who runs several existing surgeries in Manchester, providing general and cosmetic dentistry.
Dr Knight’s sports and celebrity clients have included Amir Khan and models Caprice and Danielle Lloyd.
Prices are competitive with registration costing £16, which is just less than that offered by the NHS, and only a third of the price of most other private surgeries.
Dr Lance Knight said: ‘This new practice is aimed at making dental healthcare more accessible and convenient to better meet patients’ needs. The surgery is open seven days a week making it a convenient option for those needing to see a dentist during the evenings or weekends. We hope to make the service available to many more Sainsbury’s customers across the country.’
Sainsbury’s David Gilder said: ‘There is a shortage of dental practices in the UK and the launch of this new service goes some way to providing local people with greater access to dental advice and a range of procedures. We have a long history of providing health care services in our stores, from pharmacies and travel clinics to the launch of the first ever GP’s surgery in our store in Heaton Park, Manchester. These services have been enormously popular with customers wanting access to health care professionals at convenient locations and at flexible times.’
The government estimates that there are currently over two million people who wish to register with an NHS dentist but cannot find a surgery willing to take on new clients.
Consequently in some areas, 50% of the local population are not registered with a dentist.
