A NATIONWIDE shortage of dentists is causing problems for a Bolton-based company.

Integrated Dental Holdings plc, which employs 40 people at a head office on the Sunset Business Park, Manchester Road, Kearsley, owns 146 practices throughout the UK.

Founded in June, 1996 by Liverpool dentist David Hudaly and two colleagues, the business is now the country's biggest operator in this field.

But further growth -- there were three practices when it started -- is now being hampered because the country's dental schools are not producing enough qualified dentists.

The company is actively involved in recruiting people of a similar standard from Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Mr Hudaly, aged 45, who is the Chief Executive, said: "There are not enough dentists graduating in the UK, just as there are not enough doctors and nurses.

"Only 50 per cent of the population is registered with a dentist."

He said 650 dentists worked for the company at present and about 100 of them had qualified outside the UK.

"There are no plans from the government to open up more dental schools," he said. "If there were more places they would be able to fill them."

But although their rate of expansion had been slowed, he did not think it was fair to say that dentistry was "in crisis."

The company has issued a trading statement ahead of the announcement of its preliminary results for the year ended October 31, which are due on Monday, January 27, 2003.

It says the shortage of dentists has "negatively impacted" on the company's operating performance, but the board expects that with its choice of practice locations, high number of registered patients and career opportunities, recruitment will improve. The board expects results for the year will be marginally below current market expectations and that underlying revenue growth from existing practices will show only modest growth for the current financial year.

Mr Hudaly said today: "We will be marginally short of what we forecast, but we are still making profits and generating cash."

The business has been in Kearsley for about 18 months after transferring from Manchester Road, Bolton, where it was established when it acquired PWS Dental Laboratory, a company which was subsequently the subject of a management buy-out.