Half of children without NHS dentist

10.37.55am GMT Tue 18th Jan 2005

NHS dental care in Hampshire is in crisis as new figures show almost half the county's children and two thirds of adults are not registered with an NHS dentist.

England's disappearing dental coverage has seen the number of people registered with an NHS dentist fall substantially since Labour came to power in 1997.

Just 54.8% of children in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area are registered with an NHS dentist compared to 65.5% in 1997.

The figures were released by the Government in response to a question from the Liberal Democrats' Shadow Health Minister in Parliament. They show that the Hants and Wight is in the bottom five of Health Authorities for NHS registrations of adults with just 32.4% registered:

The five Health Authorities with the least adults registered with an NHS dentist are:

1. South West 22.8%

2. Cheshire & Merseyside 26.7

3. Thames Valley 30.1

4. Hants & Wight 32.4

5. North West London 34.4

Liberal Democrats are committed to rebuilding NHS dentistry and will scrap the charge for dental check-ups as part of a programme to promote good health.