The company says it plans more dental surgeries across Wales

Denticare is setting up five surgeries in Newtown, Brecon, and Lampeter, Port Talbot and Killay.

The firm says it is getting around �40,000 from the assembly government for each practice under a programme to increase the number of dentists.

Queues of people trying to register with a dentist have become more common because of a "chronic shortage".

In August last year, around 300 queued in Llangollen when a dentist opened for new registrations for one day.

People began queuing early morning in Llangollen last year

Similar scenes have been played out across mid and west Wales with some saying they have had no choice but to travel over the border to England for treatment.

Registration of NHS patients in the news clinics is scheduled to begin next week and the company said if there is enough demand they will operate waiting lists.

Denticare have said they are getting around �40,000 set-up costs per practice from the Welsh Assembly Government as part of an initiative to increase the number of dentists.

The rest of the cost - in the case of the Lampeter practice �200,000 - would be met by the company itself.

The last penny of profit is not our mission statement Brian Hancock, Denticare

Once up and running, the company said each of the 15 dentists in the five practices, would take up to 2,200 patients.

Brian Hancock, Denticare's clinical director, told BBC Radio Wales that they were setting up "for the long haul".

"The last penny of profit is not our mission statement," he said.

'Not equitable'

"There is little profit in NHS dentistry. It's particularly difficult for those people who are working in smaller practices.

"I'm appreciative of the fact that some people have a morbid curiosity as to how we make money. But I would have thought (listeners) would like to know where these sites are and where they can get NHS provisions."

He said patients in some of the areas where the company was launching its practices would not be able to afford private dental care.

"We've targeted the places with the greatest need and it will be appreciated."

But The British Dental Association (BDA) in Wales said the move was "not equitable" and could destabilise existing NHS practices.

It said it feared that Denticare could receive more favourable terms from Local Health Boards (LHBs) than existing dentists.

Stuart Geddes, chairman of the BDA's Welsh General Dental Services Committee, told the BBC Wales news website: "Companies such as Denticare coming into Wales receive two lots of aid.

"We believe that as well as the �40,000 set-up grant from the assembly, Denticare will be given fixed contracts by local health boards from April - higher than those being given to smaller dentists which could prevent them from expanding."

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