Gaurav Vij claims dental service charges for NHS patients are too low

Gaurav Vij, who has run a practice at Machynlleth Health Centre since September 2002, will leave the practice in May.

It took 15 months to replace the last dentist who left the mid Wales town and news of Mr Vij's impending departure has raised fears about how long it will take for another dentist to set up.

In the meantime, people in the town will have to chose between going private or making a 160-mile round-trip to the nearest NHS dentist in Crickhowell.

Machynlleth is the latest in a long line to fall victim to a lack of dentists - particularly in rural Wales - which has resulted in the Welsh assembly Government is offering �50,000 ' golden hellos' as an incentive to set up practices.

The restrictions on what dentists can charge is making an NHS practice completely unviable for a dentist to earn a living. Gaurav Vij

Mr Vij, who is returning to his native Ireland has attacked on the way the NHS is run, saying: "The way things are going there will be no NHS dental service in the UK."

"The restrictions on what dentists can charge is making an NHS practice completely unviable for a dentist to earn a living.

"Dentists only get the �6 annual registration fee per patient from the government and an extra 20% on top of the low service charges for patients."

Mr Vij will also have to pay back 20% of a �13,000 assembly grant offered to attract him to Machynlleth.

More than 600 people queued to get on a NHS dentist list at Carmarthen

One of his patients, Eleanor Hennighan, recalls how two years ago she had severe toothache and called NHS Direct for advice.

"I had to wait six days for them to get back to me to tell me my nearest dentist was in Carmarthen. After a week I was in so much pain I had to have private treatment in Llanidloes."

The extent of the shortage of dentists in rural Wales became evident in July 2003 when 600 people queued to take up NHS places on offer at a new practice in Carmarthen.

A Powys Local Health Board spokesman said: "We can confirm that Dr Vij is leaving at the start of May and we are now working hard to put in place recruitment procedures and find a replacement.