Youngsters for dental ops are taken by taxis

And negotiations are taking place to increase theatre time at the city's hospitals to cut waiting lists and ensure children receive the treatment they require.

The news came in a bid to reassure parents after waiting times surged following a new Government policy to stop dentists giving general anaesthetics in their surgeries.

Yesterday the Telegraph & Argus reported how six-year-old Louis Doyle, of Buttershaw, was told he had to wait ten months for an operation to extract one of his molars at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Swarnjit Shahid, Clinical Director of Bradford's Community Dental Service, said she was extremely concerned about waiting times and was doing everything possible to try to reduce them.

She said: "Our primary concern is for patient safety. There are risks attached with general anaesthetics and the guidance we have to work with is that all extractions with general anaesthetic are to be carried out in hospitals with a critical care service.

"In Bradford that means at Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust and we are in talks with them to get an extra four sessions a month.

"We are transporting patients by taxi to Airedale General Hospital as we are running some sessions up there, and we are also in negotiations with neighbouring dental services."

Bradford has the worst oral health record in Yorkshire and the fourth highest rate of bad teeth in under-fives in the country. Under new proposals, dentists are required to operate in hospital theatres with the help of extra facilities and experienced staff.

Chief executive of Bradford City Primary Care Trust, Lynnette Throp, said waiting times were a problem Bradford- wide. She said: "I'm not aware of any differences across the district.''

A spokesman for the NHS Executive Northern and Yorkshire said that he had not seen any noticeable increase across the region as a whole in the number of patients waiting for treatment.