A DENTAL group has completed the £400,000 buy-out of a Galashiels practice – vowing to clear the waiting list caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Infinityblu Dental Care and Implant Clinic, founded by Chris Barrowman, finalised its acquisition of mydentist on Albert Place in early February.

Staffing levels have immediately been bolstered in a bid to cut waiting lists and “reconnect with lapsed patients”.

“It will be really good to fully get going,” said Mr Barrowman. “We have plans for investments in new digital technology at the practice but the immediate priority has been restructuring the appointment diary and increasing numbers of team members, in order to see more patients on a daily basis.

“There has been a pandemic backlog, which has never really been caught up on, and added to this, the previous owners struggled to recruit in the practice.

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“We have brought in a new full-time therapist and existing Infinityblu dentists from our other Borders practices in Duns and Peebles who will now share their time between the new practice and their existing practices.

“The main thing is to get the support for our existing team so we can make sure the patients, who deserve to be seen, are seen.”

Treatments such as orthodontics and dental implants will be available for the first time in the area within a matter of weeks, with plans for innovative digital dentistry investment set to follow.

The Albert Place practice was temporarily closed following the take-over to allow for staff training and for the company’s ‘patient care’ ethos to be implemented.

“This is a great location,” said Mr Barrowman. “There is an opportunity for this to become a flagship for Infinityblu and the Borders itself.

“When we first moved into the Borders, in Duns, people weren’t maybe aware of the name we had in other regions, but the patients have been great and, when we took over in Peebles, people knew or had heard about Infinityblu, and there is again this excitement building locally about the Galashiels take-over.”

He added that he had already been contacted by interested dentists aware of the recruitment opportunities generated by the acquisition.