Patients will be able to access emergency NHS treatment

The head of the White Rose surgery in Camborne, Dr Simon Smith, is leaving the health service after 25 years.

He said it was because the government's new contract did not allow him to do the thorough work his patients needed.

About 9,000 adults will be affected, but not children. Acting chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft said the new contracts gave patients a better deal.

We believed the new contract offered was a retrograde step Dr Simon Smith

Dr Smith said he could not sign the new contract.

He said: "We believed the new contract offered was a retrograde step, and would not let us carry out the preventative care to the patients that we wish to do."

From April, instead of being paid for each NHS treatment they carry out, dentists will be given a guaranteed income based on their historical income.

Many dentists say that under the new contracts, they would not be able to spend time addressing preventative measures.

Health trust bosses said the contracts would actually allow dentists to spend more time with their patients.

Dr Smith claims the new NHS contract restricted preventative care

BBC South West health correspondent Sally Mountjoy said: "Acting chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft said the new contracts offered patients and dentists a better deal.

"Dentists would have a guaranteed income - on average �80,000 a year plus �80,000 towards practice expenses - but have to do 5% less work.

"This, he says, means they can spend more time with their patients."

In the meantime, the NHS in Cornwall said emergency dentistry was still available in the county and that money earmarked for White Rose surgery would be used to provide treatment.

Adrian Tyas, director of the Primary Care Support Agency, said: "We retain the funding that been given up and we'll use it to bring new dentists into the country.

"That's not a quick thing to do, but we will do it as quickly as possible.