A dental surgery is set to expand in a move which could allow it to see up to 200 new NHS patients each month.

The plans, in a bid to combat a “severe lack” of government-funded surgeries, also include a training facility which hopes to hire dentists from India to help plug a shortfall.

Swale council approved the application, put forward by Peter Chopra, which will see Chopra & Associates Dental Surgeries expand its existing base in London Road, Sittingbourne,.

An outdated detached modular structure at the rear of the main three-storey Edwardian building is to be demolished and replaced with the training centre.

The new building will have a lecture theatre office space and a restroom for staff. Other practices in the area could also use the training building.

There will also be a three-storey side extension which will have three flats.

Altogether there will be six flats on the premises thanks to a refurb of the main building’s first floor.

As part of the scheme, the surgery will provide subsidised housing and train dentists to UK standards and regulations.

The practice said it is looking at hiring staff from India after a more than three-year search which has seen “no suitable candidates” come forward.

It said in its planning documents: “There are just not enough qualified dentists and dental nurses available and any dental staff who may well be available, are unfortunately taking jobs in the private sector and not the NHS.”

Once the revamp is completed the practice will have eight surgical rooms – up from four - which will allow it to see the new NHS patients.

The news comes after KentOnline revealed one in eight people in Kent and Medway do not have a dentist – the highest rate across the south east.

Alpha Design Studio, which put together the planning application, pointed to a “severe lack” of NHS dental provision in Swale.

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna (Lab) said: “This is great news and very much needed. Too many people locally have struggled for far too long to see a dentist, and this is new centre is exactly what we need more of here.

“I campaigned for improved NHS services. I know from speaking to clinical staff and healthcare experts that it is going to take real effort, and reform of the way services are delivered, to make sure everyone has access to the services we all deserve.

“I want to make it easier for dentists to offer high quality services to NHS patients, the modern care that I know they are keen to provide everyone who needs it, as well as find ways to encourage dentists to provide those services right here in Sittingbourne and Sheppey.”

Previously, the former MP, Gordon Henderson (Con), had thrown his weight behind the scheme when the plans were unveiled in March.

Swale councillors have previously linked the increasing pressure on public services, including healthcare, to housebuilding in the borough.

Population growth in Swale has outstripped the national average, increasing by 11.7% between 2011 and 2021 compared to 6.6% across the rest of the country.

A total of 151,700 residents now live in the borough.