TWO of the Highland’s dental practices – which between them serve a vast portion of north-west Scotland – have been acquired by a rapidly growing Scottish dental group.

Since opening in 2001, M&S Dental Care has become a vital service to Fort William and its surrounding area, realising the vision of its owner Gregor Muir in making both NHS and specialist dental care accessible to everybody in the community.

The practice has subsequently expanded to become one of the largest in the Highlands, with eight surgeries, 10 dentists and one hygienist serving a growing customer base.

Along with its sister practice, M&S Dental Care in Glencoe, which was acquired in 2013, they serve more than 20,000 patients, with some travelling from as far afield as Inverness, Skye, Mallaig and The Trossachs.

Muir believes the Clyde Munro partnership will bring further benefits to his combined 30-strong team, while maintaining the strong culture and identity of the practices. Glasgow-headquartered Clyde Munro is an entirely Scottish-based and Scottish-focused dental group. Since being founded by Jim Hall in 2015 it has enjoyed rapid growth.

This acquisition takes the company’s portfolio to 38 practices.

He said: “This business is deeply personal to me and along with our loyal and driven team we’ve created practices we’re immensely proud of.

“It was so important to them and our customers that we didn’t sell out to a faceless corporate firm that would change our fabric. Unlike many other groups, Clyde Munro is Scotland-specific, so it understands the complex market. The enthusiasm of its team is infectious.

“Children were having to take days out of school to travel 60 odd miles to Inverness or Glasgow to receive orthodontics every 10 weeks – which we thought was crazy.”