 Only half of Scottish adults are registered with a dentist |
The Scottish Executive has come under fire for making the job of chief dental officer a part-time post. Opposition politicians say the move shows the executive's failure to take the crisis in Scotland's dental services seriously.
Recent figures show more than half of all adults in Scotland are not registered with an NHS dentist.
The executive said Chief Dental Officer Ray Watkins was taking up a senior teaching post.
A spokesman insisted Mr Watkins would continue to play a leading role in reforming dental services.
He said: "Under this arrangement, the executive would continue to benefit from Mr Watkins' extensive experience and delivery of the modernisation programme would be enhanced by his work within the NHS.
"This proposal is nearing finalisation."
Details of the move were revealed in a letter leaked to the Scottish National Party (SNP).
SNP spokeswoman Shona Robison said the decision came at a time when 40,000 patients had been taken off NHS dental lists in the last two years.
She said that the executive was due to publish its response to a consultation on dental health in February.
"This will be the biggest shake-up in dental services for years, and so this is not the time to make cutbacks," added Ms Robison.
"Without a full-time role, the chief dental officer will not be able to devote the time needed to bring about positive change.
"Improving NHS services should be a priority, not a part-time job."
Free check-ups
Official figures show the number of adults registered with NHS dentists fell by 23,000 in the 12 months to March 2004, while 10,000 fewer children were signed up over the same period.
The executive has also been warned by the British Dental Association (BDA) that it risks missing its target of providing free dental check-ups for all patients by 2007.
The BDA said the target was only realistic if dentists were given more time and training to deal with all the issues covered in modern dentistry, including dietary advice and helping patients to stop smoking.
Last year a six-year-old boy was forced to travel from his Western Isles home to Glasgow for dental treatment as no local dentists were available, while a dentist who opened a practice in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, was immediately besieged by 1,500 prospective patients.
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Improving NHS services should be a priority, not a part-time job 
