Lanarkshire residents have told how student dentists and nurses have put smiles back on their faces.

They were beneficiaries of an initiative at NHS Lanarkshire’s Dental Outreach Centre in the Buchanan Centre, Coatbridge, which gives people not registered with a dentist the chance to get a course of dental treatment absolutely free.

Since the initiative was launched five years ago, over 2000 people have received free treatment, and the centre is now appealing for new patients to come forward.

Those eligible will get a free course of supervised treatment from the student dentists and dental hygienists/therapists in their final year of training, in one of the modern well equipped Buchanan Centre’s 14 state of the art dental surgeries.

The four were among the last batch of locals who contacted the centre when it last appealed for volunteers.

Arthur McLaughlin, 71, from Coatbridge said: “If you don’t have a dentist and need dental treatment, you’d be mad not to get in touch.

“I needed new teeth so when I heard about this opportunity it was a no brainer for me.

“It’s made such a huge difference to my smile and makes me feel a lot better as well.”

Thomas McLaughlin, 72, from Uddingston, said: “I was having bother with my gums and my niece told me about what the centre was offering.

“I was sceptical at first, but thought I may as well give it a go.

“I’ve been delighted with the results and I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

Elizabeth Jorgensen, 70, from Coatbridge, said: “I’ve always had a bit of a phobia about dentists which kept me away from them for years.

“It meant I needed a lot of treatment which would be very expensive.

“When my daughter told me about this, I decided to find out more.

“They were very reassuring and I went ahead with it.

“It’s the best thing I’ve done because it’s given me the confidence to smile for the first time in years.”

Alison Murdoch, 41, from Wishaw, said: “I had a bad experience with a private dentist a few years ago which left me needing a lot of repair work.

“I saw a poster for the outreach centre in my GP surgery and got in touch.

“It was fantastic and I can only say the dentist had healing hands as they gave me my smile back.

“I would highly recommend it.”

Mike Devine, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of salaried primary care dental services, who oversees the initiative, said: “It’s terrific to hear these individuals have had such a positive experience and that the free treatment has made a difference to their lives.

“And we’re once again offering this great opportunity to those not registered with a dentist to get in touch.”

One of the senior dentists at the Outreach Centre, Paul Hazlett, added: “We are able to offer patients one complete course of dental treatment, after which, they are encouraged to register with a dental practitioner.

“Even if people aren’t aware of having a dental problem, they can still come along and let us check things out for them.

“As it’s final year students who carry out treatment, appointment times take slightly longer than normal and patients may not have as much treatment carried out at each visit as they may expect in a general dental practice.

“However, each patient will have their treatment carried out to a high standard as experienced dentists will be supervising all the work.”

To be eligible you must be over 16-years-old and not be registered with a dentist.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 01236 703460.

You can also enquire at the reception desk of the Dental Outreach Centre on the first floor of the Buchanan Centre, Main Street Coatbridge, ML5 3BJ.

Photo caption: Alison Murdoch (in dental chair) with Paul Hazlett and student dental nurses (l-r) Laura McGuire, Collette McCann and dental nurse Lauren Gormley.