NHS dental cavity plugged for some in Dumfriesshire

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Dumfries and Galloway's dental crisis has been officially recognised as one of the worst in Scotland.Supporting evidence from NHS Dumfries and Galloway has persuaded the Scottish Government to designate it “an SDAI area with poor dental access” which has unlocked some funding at a time when no dentists in the region are taking on new NHS patients.The Scottish Dental Access Initiative has meant that Moffat Dental Practice was able to offer 2,000 spaces for new NHS dental patients – and all have been instantly snapped up.Some 500 of those patients, who were quick to register, have already been seen at the practice.It is now estimated that during the last two years the figure for those aged over 18 across the region left without an NHS dentist has escalated to 36,000.Practices in Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Annan and Langholm have either closed or de-registered patients through a switch to private patients only.Director of Dentistry for NHS Dumfries and Galloway Alison Milne said the Moffat boost was only made possible thanks to Scottish Dental Access Initiative grant following the official designation.The SDAI aims to support NHS dental provision in designated geographic areas where access to general dental services is low and there is evidence of unmet patient demand and/or high oral health needs.As a result, NHS Dumfries and Galloway is in a position to provide grant funding for applicants who are able to provide expanded NHS dental treatment.It is now hoped that more dentists might step forward in other parts of the region.Ms Milne said: “We’re still facing some real challenges in our region around access to NHS dental services, but these developments at Moffat Dental Practice represent a very positive