The Real Story mobile dentist van parked on Scarborough's precint

For some, the offer of sitting in a dentist's chair may not be tempting enough to interrupt their Saturday shopping.

But when a team from BBC One's Real Story rolled into the centre of Scarborough with a mobile dentist van, the positive response did not surprise them.

Over 70,000 people in the seaside town are not registered with an NHS dentist.

And Health Minister Rosie Winterton last year admitted the area was the worst hit in England by a shortage of NHS dentists.

In pain

To assess the damage to residents' teeth, Real Story aimed to carry out as many check ups as possible in four hours on those who had been unable to find an NHS dentist.

The programme enlisted the help of dentist Valerie Silver from a practice outside the area, and her dental nurse daughter.

Although unable to offer any treatment, Mrs Silver advised each of the 34 patients what work was necessary.

This ranged from a scale and polish for a 5-year-old boy to extractions, fillings and crowns for a methadone addict - which Mrs Silver estimated would cost the NHS up to �2,000.

It's a good job I like mashed potatoes and milk puddings Valerie Halsworth

Four people were referred for emergency treatment because of the level of pain they were suffering.

A middle-aged woman whose lower dentures did not fit had smarting ulcers and a bridge of hard dirt which would take several appointments to scrape away.

Another woman who had given birth just a few days previously had suffered painful bleeding of the gums throughout her pregnancy.

But perhaps the starkest reminder of the town's dental crisis came from pensioner Valerie Halsworth who raided her husband's toolbox to yank out five of her teeth with pliers.

Gum disease

"I couldn't have done it without a drink," said the 64-year-old, who lost her place at the surgery she had been visiting for over 30 years when her time in between appointments exceeded new government guidelines.

Valerie has chronic gum disease and the pain has led her to pull out a tooth every 12 months - one for each of the five years she has been searching for an NHS dentist.

"It's a good job I like mashed potatoes and milk puddings."

Real Story features two other senior citizens whose despair has led to DIY dentistry.

Maureen Simmonite pulled a tooth out using pliers

Pliers were also the tool chosen by Maureen Simmonite, 60, from Llanelli in Wales when a couple of months ago she pulled out her first tooth in protest at the decline in NHS treatment.

72-year-old Connie Humphries, from Cardigan, also in South Wales, used a wrench for her extraction.

Dentists consulted by the programme listed a danger of infection and damage to healthy teeth among the reasons not to "try it at home".

In 1999 Tony Blair pledged that within two years everyone would get access to NHS dental care.

National smile week

Five years on, a Real Story survey of all the 60,392 NHS-registered practices in England shows that only 25% are accepting new adult NHS patients.

In April 2005, the government will change the way it pays dentists to encourage more of them to do NHS work. Dental hygenists will also start carrying out some treatments.

But for now, in a week dedicated to the "national smile" by the British Dental Health Foundation, those who cannot afford private health care may be feeling distinctly down in the mouth.

Real Story: BBC One, Monday 17 May 2004, 1930 BST and live on the Real Story website.