A NEW mobile dental surgery put a smile on the faces of children in a rural community yesterday.

As part of National Smile Week, children from Middleton-in-Teesdale Primary School were given a dental check and some pupils were given a free x-ray.

The initiative aims to give pupils living in remote areas the chance to receive good dental care, and find out more about how they can look after their teeth.

Three dentists were on hand to check the youngsters' teeth.

The mobile dental surgery also visited the Market Place, in Middleton-in-Teesdale and Woodhouse Close estate, Bishop Auckland.

Wynn Griffiths, chief executive of Derwentside Primary Care Trust, which is overseeing the scheme, 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 dental surgery will fill gaps in existing dental services.

"It will provide a full range of NHS dental treatment. Standard NHS patients' charges and exemptions will apply.