BOLTON is in the grip of a dental crisis.
None of the borough's 32 practices is accepting new NHS patients, with some saying their books could be closed to new patients for ever.
The chronic shortage, uncovered by a Bolton Evening News investigation, has arisen despite an extra 7,000 places being made available at surgeries across Bolton in February.
The town's problems with bad teeth and tooth decay are among the worst in the UK - under fives have three times the number of fillings than the national average.
MP for Bolton north east David Crausby said: "This has been a serious problem for some time. We need more salaried dentists in the NHS and I have raised the issue with the Primary Care Trust. People aren't turning to private dentists out of choice, but because it's a necessity."
Just one surgery in Park Road, Westhoughton, is accepting new names - but that is only to get onto a waiting.
A second surgery in Halliwell Road, Bolton, is allowing child patients on to its NHS waiting list, but not adults.
Earlier this year, borough health bosses agreed new contracts with 19 of Bolton's dental practices in February, with some appointing additional dentists, enabling an extra 7,000 people to register for NHS treatment.
It is hoped that further contracts will be agreed within the next six months and another 15,000 places will become available by next February.
A spokesman for Bolton's Primary Care Trust, which agreed the new contracts, said: "The PCT is working with local dentists to address this issue."
While NHS dental care is no longer free, it is considerably cheaper than the only other alternative - going private. On the NHS, a check-up costs £5.84, a polish £9.20, a crown about £90 and a filling £15.
But in the private sector a check-up can cost as much as £37.50, a filling £110, a crown £500 and a polish £27.50.
NHS dentist and president of Bolton's Dental Society, Chris Brooks, blames the chronic shortage on a lack of trained dentists, a shortfall in government funding and dentists leaving the NHS in a bid to improve patient care.
He said: "The contracts that have been negotiated with the Department of Health don't allow for growth in the provision of NHS dentists, so if surgeries want to expand and employ more dentists, the funding isn't there for them to do so.
"More dentists are now being trained, but these will take time to come through. The closed waiting lists will have a serious impact on the dental health because access to an NHS dentist is fundamental to good oral health."
Almost 250 of Bolton's under-10s had to undergo the trauma of dental surgery and general anaesthetic in order to have decayed teeth removed last year.
For residents of Bolton who are in desperate need of treatment, but unable to register with the NHS, arrangements are in place.
For emergency treatment call 01204 526509 on weekday evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings.
On weekdays, call 01204 548946 for advice on the occasional treatment scheme.
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