Plans for a new dental surgery for adults and children with additional needs have been submitted to Ipswich Borough Council.
If approved, the surgery would be situated in Nash House, Portman Road – one of the office blocks close to the junction with Handford Road.
It would be run by the Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust and focus on people with additional needs who are unable to access mainstream dental services.
As well as offering treatments to patients, it would also serve as a training practice for newly qualified dentists under the Health Education England Foundation Dentist Scheme.
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The trust currently operates a dental clinic in Hawthorne Drive, although it is said the site is inadequate for giving a full range of services to people with additional needs.
A letter from the trust included in the plans said Nash House was the only suitable space available on the market.
Amy Schiller, the trust's dental service lead for Suffolk, said: “Our current accommodation in Ipswich is inadequate for this patient group. It limits our ability to provide a full range of service due to the space.
"There is also the added uncertainty that the accommodation is earmarked for possible redevelopment, which would impact the continuity of our service provision.
“We have therefore undertaken an extensive search for suitable and accessible premises in Ipswich. We are excited about how Nash House can be developed internally to accommodate our service and provide accessible changing spaces for the special care patients who live in and around Ipswich."
If successful, the dental surgery is hoped to open by early next year – with a contract lasting 10 years.
It would have four dental clinic rooms inside, alongside an X-Ray room and a recovery room.
Office space would be housed on the first floor, with the layout of the previous office set to remain the same.
Additional areas of the plans include refurbishing the entrance while two new doors would be installed on the side of the building.
Parking would be available for patients, with space for more than 20 vehicles available.
The planning application is pending consideration from the council's planning committee.
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