THE mobile ‘tooth bus’ has set out on its mission to improve Oxfordshire’s dental health.

Yesterday the NHS’s latest dentist on wheels made its first stop in Broad Street, Oxford, offering free check ups to those who want them.

Anyone who lives in the county and has not seen an NHS dentist in the last two years can fill out a form and hop into the van’s roaming surgery.

Dentist Varinder Bassi said there was a “steady stream” of people taking advantage of the new service.

“We are just at the start of this initiative,” he said.

“So we need to see which sites are good and which sites are bad. Supermarkets work well because people tend to have a bit of extra time.”

He said that about a dozen people took advantage of the bus during the day.

The bus will also be in Broad Street today and tomorrow.