NHS dentistry in Bradford and Airedale has received a £2 million boost, making way for more than 26,000 additional patients to be treated in the district.

The board of Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust yesterday unanimously agreed to commit an extra £1.5m a year to establish and maintain three new NHS dental surgeries.

The surgeries, in Keighley, south eastern Bradford and the Wharfe Valley, will provide ongoing NHS care to an additional 20,441 patients.

Also approved were plans for non-recurrent funding of £651,320 to ensure that 6,000 people - whose names are currently held by the tPCT on a database of those wishing to see an NHS dentist - can have a check up and a single course of dental treatment soon.

There is currently an eight-month waiting list. Dentists will be asked to bid to provide this treatment.

Helen Hirst, director of service development at the tPCT, said: "The board has confirmed today that safeguarding NHS dentistry is a high priority for the tPCT and has committed ongoing, additional funds to increase the number of dentists practising locally and so improve access to dental care."

Mrs Hirst said a shortage of dentists was one of the top concerns raised by people who live in Bradford and Airedale. She said it had also been the most common problem highlighted so far by all the public consultations that they had carried out.

"Oral health in the district is among the worst in the country and this extra funding will help us to tackle this issue and improve access," she said.

"A number of factors have been taken into consideration when identifying these areas for extra provision which include having the least number of dental practices, the greatest number of patients on our database and the worst oral health record."

Recent statistics from the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry show more than half of children in the Bradford district have decayed or missing teeth or fillings by the age of five.

And chairman of the tPCT John Chuter said it had come as a surprise to him that only a third of the population of Bradford go to the dentist when they were in pain.

Mrs Hirst said she thought the board should take a cautious view and should see what the impact of this initial financial investment would be.

Pam James, chairman of the Bradford and Airedale Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum, said: "We're delighted that the tPCT is investing in dentistry, which is clearly an area of great need and concern for people living in the district.

"This investment will help thousands of people to have access to a dentist, particularly in areas where NHS dentistry is poorly represented."

There are 62 dental practices in the district providing some level of NHS dentistry. A further four provide only orthodontic care.

Four practices operating in Ilkley and the Wharfe Valley have limited lists, meaning they will only see children and patients exempt from paying NHS charges.

e-mail: ali.davies@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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