BDA voices concern over north Wales dental waiting lists

The British Dental Association (BDA) has suggested funding issues are at the heart of the lengthening waiting lists that NHS patients are facing at dental practices in north Wales.

NHS Direct data highlighted by the Daily Post reveals that only 22 of the more than 100 dental surgeries in the region are currently accepting new NHS patients, with waiting times ranging from between four and 24 months.

As a result, local politicians are having to deal with complaints from their constituents, while Stuart Geddes, director of the BDA in Wales, said the problem is that dentistry has become a "cash-limited service".

He noted that even in cases where practices are able to expand, there is currently no funding available to do so without going private.

Mr Geddes said: "It's a real problem and the present system has got to change because it isn't tenable, but we are talking about four years from now."

This comes after the BDA published a survey of salaried dentists last month showing that many industry professionals are concerned that an erosion of services could currently be jeopardising patient care quality.