Local Lib Dems have called for urgent action to increase the number of patients at dentists, following new figures revealed by the Liberal Democrat Health team in Parliament showing that the number of children registered by the local health authority has fallen from 59% to 53% since Labour came to power.The percentage of adults registered in the area has also fallen, from 43% to just 36% over the same period.

On top of these poor figures, research released by the Lib Dems nationally shows that value for money is worse under the Government’s scheme of dental treatment centres compared to the existing system. The average cost for every course of treatment provided by the new scheme is over three times as much as that provided by dentists working in the traditional system. Lib Dems criticised the scheme as being a waste of money, often requiring patients to travel further and meaning that illnesses are not picked up early or prevented.

Ross Laird, Lib Dem Deputy Leader, comments:

“These are very disappointing figures. In reality, Labour’s pledge that all patients would have access to dentistry just isn’t there, and the local figures are worse than average.Instead of reversing the crisis created by the Tories, things have just got worse under Labour.”