Total Dental Ambleside says it is offering free dental and hygiene examinations to anyone who has been unable to get an appointment with a dentist for a year or more.

The facility is being made available to adults and children living in the Ambleside area, and the practice says the check-up could help to prevent serious dental problems from arising.

The free treatment will also include a scale and polish to help get rid of potentially damaging plaque which may have built up.

Total Dental Ambleside is based in the now fully refurbished Millans Park premises formerly occupied by popular village dentist Mike Hynes who retired earlier this year.

According to recent findings by the BDA, children suffer on average 1.5 rotten teeth by the age of five, partly because many families now struggle to enrol at a dental practice to receive regular check-ups.

"Although we are a private clinic, we are dental professionals and believe that everyone should have access to adequate dental care," said Chloe Booth who is a director of Total Dental.