Ninety percent of rural communities have no dental surgery, new research has found.

A Welsh Consumer Council report says that health - particularly among the most vulnerable such as pensioners and disabled people - could be jeopardised because of the chronic lack of dentists, doctors and public transport.

The study published on Wednesday, showed 90% of small rural areas have no dental surgeries while 65% have no doctors, leaving people without a car vulnerable.

Some in rural communities are left short-changed

Age Concern Cymru told BBC News Online that the health of senior citizens was being placed in danger by the lack transport to neighbouring towns.

The British Dental Association said it was simply not cost-effective to open up in countryside locations.

Consumer council researchers also found 90% of tiny Welsh communities have no bank and 40% have no shop.

Report author Mark Jeffs said: "There are many benefits to living in rural Wales ... if you have money and good transport."

"Those without money and with poor or no transport can face acute problems, especially if they have young children, a disability or need urgent access to a hospital or other emergency service."

The study concentrated on communities with an average of 0.5 to four people per hectare.

Buses missing

Rebecca Colpus - Age Concern's officer for the rural Montgomeryshire - said the lack of buses could make staying healthy a problem.

People were missing hospital appointments because transport was lacking, she said.

Rural communities

90% have no bank 90% have no dentist 65% have no GP surgery 40% have no shop Many left stranded in own home Welsh geography makes delivery expensive Source: Welsh Consumer Council

"People are finding great difficulty in getting to GPs and dentists in urban areas," she said.

"They are left to find their own way, even when they are ill.

"Free bus passes introduced by the Welsh Assembly are all well and good but they are only useful if there is a bus service in the community - here, there are only one or two buses each day.

British Dental Association's secretary in Wales, Stuart Geddis, said it simply too expensive to set up surgeries in rural communities.

Mobile dentists

"With a cost of up to �80,000 to establish a practice, you need a catchment area population of 8,000 to 10,000 - only half of those will visit a dentist in any one year.

"In a village with a population of just 200 people, it is not cost-effective.

"There are not enough people who want to work as dentists in rural areas."

He said mobile dental services, which roll up in remote communities across the UK, were not running in Wales due to a staff shortage.

"If people don't have regular care, they will have bigger problems than they need to," he added.

The Welsh Consumer Council called on Welsh Assembly ministers to level the services playing field between rural and urban Wales.