Fewer people will have a dentist in the future, projections suggest

The Department of Health predicts staff shortages will more than double by 2011.

In England alone in 2003 there was a shortage of 1,850 dentists, and this could rise to between 3,640 and 5,100 it said.

The British Dental Association said there was no doubt that the supply of dentists had reached crisis point.

The report by the Primary Care Dental Workforce Review, was published without fanfare on the Department of Health website.

It is the first review of the dental workforce since 1987.

The supply of dentists has reached crisis point John Renshaw, chair of the British Dental Association's Executive Board

The report's publication follows the government's announcement last week to recruit an extra 1,000 by October 2005.

It is envisaged this will be achieved by attracting back dentists who have left the NHS, recruiting dentists from EU countries and overseas and increasing the number of training places at dental schools.

Even with these extra staff, this would still leave too few dentists to meet demand, according to calculations made by the report.

Shortfall

The authors reached their estimates by looking at population projections and dental registration data.

This gives an idea of the likely gap between supply and demand.

Last summer, in Camarthen, Wales, residents lined the high street as they waited to get on the books of a new dentist.

Figures show less than half of adults in England are registered with an NHS dentist.

In some areas, the figure is even lower with just one in five turning to the NHS for dental treatment.

John Renshaw, chair of the British Dental Association's Executive Board, said: "There is no doubt that the supply of dentists has reached crisis point, as patients trying to access dental treatment know only too well.