'I've been told it could take five years to find a dentist'

When Maissie Presslie moved to Stranraer from Falkirk in 2024 she did not expect finding an NHS dentist would prove so difficult.

She told the BBC that she has been told she could face anything up to a five-year wait to join a practice.

The difficulties in the Dumfries and Galloway town increased recently when the region's health board confirmed 3,000 patients were being deregistered after the retirement of one of the town's dentists.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway says it is facing significant challenges with dental services and its role is to work alongside practices to provide support and encourage dentists to come to the region.

Maissie, 70, said that she and her husband would usually get six month check-ups but that had proved impossible, despite visiting all the practices they could think of.

"We've put our names down at the ones that we know of - which isn't many - and we've been told that it could take up to five years because they have hundreds on their list to join them," she said.

"They've told us just right out straight that it would be up to five years before we'd be able to get on to any register with them, which is a long time."

This leaves her worried about what happens should she need treatment any time soon.

"I believe that a dentist is necessary, it's necessary for us, we're getting older, we need to make sure our teeth are okay," she said.

"I've tried to do that my whole life just to make sure - I've been very lucky enough not to have had to get much done to my teeth.

"But in the case of, if I do break a tooth or I have a filling comes out at any point, then I really don't know where to go."

She said she had been "shocked" by the situation in her new home town.

"I love the area, I love the people," she said.

"But I just don't understand why there aren't enough dentists here.

"I believe there's about 10,500 people in Stranraer, maybe about 14,000 around the surrounding areas, and it must be not only frustrating for me but frustrating for people who already live here as well."

She said she had tried further afield like Newton Stewart and Girvan but without success and had been on the waiting list for the practice which is now deregistering thousands of patients.

"I just wish somebody could see that there is an issue in Stranraer," she said.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway said there continued to be "significant challenges" with the provision of general NHS dental services across the region.

It stressed that its role was to work with practices to support them and encourage dentists to base themselves in the area.

It added that the recent de-registrations in Stranraer coincided with the launch of a service for people aged 25 or under in the town, offering a check-up and treatment at the Galloway Community Hospital (GCH).

It said people of any age who were not registered with an NHS dentist could access a single course of treatment at the Garden Hill Dental Clinic in Castle Douglas which is about 55 miles (88km) away.

A Scottish government statement said: "We have provided an additional £437,000 of recurring funding to NHS Dumfries and Galloway to support the unique dental access issues in this area."

It said that had been used to open the service at Garden Hill and also support the provision at the GCH.

It added that it had committed to "review and refresh" the financial incentives available to dentist to support improved access for rural communities.