THE country's first mobile dental surgery, which provides dental care for people living in remote parts of the Durham Dales, is proving a success.

The £135,000 surgery, which is part of a three-year pilot project funded by the Department of Health, has been touring County Durham since it was launched in April.

It aims to provide people living in rural areas with better access to dental care, and has visited schools in the dales to give children advice on how to look after their teeth.

The surgery is fully equipped with computerised patient records and a digital imaging system, which reduces the radiation dosage needed for dental x-rays and improves the safety of the procedure.

It is managed by Derwentside Primary Care Trust, and has visited several rural communities.

As part of National Smile Week earlier this month, the mobile surgery visited pupils at Middleton-in-Teesdale Primary School to show them how caring for their teeth can be fun. Children were invited to look around the surgery, role-play with instruments and take part in a colouring competition. They were also encouraged to clean their teeth and gums twice a day, cut down on sugary foods and drinks, and visit their dentist regularly.

Wynn Griffiths, Derwentside Primary Care Trust chief executive, said: "The primary care trust is committed to improving access to dental services for local people and is delighted to be chosen as the first pilot mobile dental service in the UK.

"These areas have been identified as areas of high dental need or with a low level of dental service and the new mobile surgery will fill the gaps in existing services."