Owners of one of the area’s largest dental practices are retiring after 29 years.

Drs David and Ceri Houston are retiring from running The Houston Group across North Somerset, with practices in Clevedon, Nailsea and Ham Green.

All staff members will remain with the group and the incoming owners have reassured them it will be 'business as usual'.

The purchaser, Alliance Dental Care, owned by Dr Anshul Pangotra and Punita Taneja, operate a small group of practices in Hertfordshire, North Devon and Dorset.

Dr Pangotra told the Times: "We are delighted and proud to be the new owners of the Houston Group.

"The ethos of the business and its patient-led focus was highly attractive to us and complements our existing practices perfectly.

"The excellent clinical and support teams will continue to offer the very highest standards of dental care to both NHS and private patients and it will very much be business as usual, with no interruption to the patient experience.

"There is excitement in the air for the future and we will continue to deliver the same high levels of quality across the area."

Houston opened its first practice in Weston 1990 and has grown to be one of the largest providers of dentistry in the UK.

It provides NHS and private patients with a range of dental treatments.

Outgoing owner David Houston praised his staff's efforts over the years.

He said: "We would like to publicly thank everyone with whom we have had contact with during our time in North Somerset for their support and services on our behalf.

"We are extremely grateful to all those patients and professional colleagues who have supported the expansion and development of our group of practices.

"During our almost three-decade long journey, the practices have seen extensive growth and numerous changes.

"We are indebted to everyone who has generously supported us by their attendance, loyalty, hard work and personal recommendation.

"Consequently, we feel confident we are leaving our patients and staff in good hands and wish all parties well for the future."