Sitting in a dentist's waiting room, looking into a fish tank might be a familiar sight for many - but how about seeing it from the other side?

Eastern Daily Press: A painting created by homeless people from St Martin's Housing Trust is welcomed into it's new home at Norfolk Dental Specialists, who commissioned the work. Picture: ANTONY KELLYA painting created by homeless people from St Martin's Housing Trust is welcomed into it's new home at Norfolk Dental Specialists, who commissioned the work. Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

That's the view patients at Norfolk Dental Specialists will get after they commissioned a group for vulnerable adults at risk of homelessness to create a piece of art for the practice.

Norfolk Dental Specialists and St Martins Housing Trust's training and development centre, Under-1-Roof, have been working together since the Trust was selected as the practices' 2016 charity of the year.

Under 1 Roof supports vulnerable adults at risk of homelessness to develop skills to live independently in the community.

And lead clinician and practice owner of Norfolk Dental Specialists, Dr Hamed Karimi, set the Under-1-Roof art group a challenge to create the commemorative piece of artwork to hang in the patients lounge, to mark the ten year anniversary of its central Norwich location.

The brief to the group was to work together to develop a painting relevant to dentistry but with a quirky interesting angle.

The collaborative result is an oil on canvas with a view of the practice lounge, but from the inside of an aquarium with the fish looking out at the patients as they await their appointments.

Members from the art group attended the unveiling with Fiona Joyce, learning and programme development manager of Under-1-Roof.

She said: 'Norfolk Dental Specialists provided a great opportunity for our artists to have free creative rein over the painting and come up with something that everyone could be involved with.

'Some members of the group had no previous experience of painting in oil and so it was also an opportunity to learn new skills too.'

In recognition of the artwork and hard work by the group, Dr Karimi presented a cheque for £400 to St Martins Housing Trust.

He added: 'The art group were very creative and imaginative in their approach and really surprised us with their ideas and interpretation, we are delighted with the result and think our patients will love it too.

'Let's face it, awaiting a dental treatment can never be deemed as the best way to spend your day and we appreciate that, so this painting provides a focal and talking point within our patients lounge and adds just the right amount of humour.'