Lib Dems Unveil £40m Scheme To Give Everyone Access To An NHS Dentist

The Liberal Democrats yesterday unveiled plans which they claimed would ensure everyone in Scotland had access to an NHS dentist.
 

Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said that, if elected, he would spend £40 million employing 200 new dentists – enough to cover the current gaps in coverage across Scotland. He claimed his party was instrumental in introducing free dental checks for all and he would ensure a new dental school was set up in Aberdeen if re-elected in May.

The British Dental Association said it could not comment on the number of dentists needed but said there were other, potentially greater, problems it wanted politicians to fix first. A BDA spokeswoman said: “We want the Scottish Executive to create the financial conditions allowing dentists to stay within the NHS. That’s a more important issue.”

About half of all adults in Scotland are no longer registered with an NHS dentist. The SNP said the Lib Dems – as part of the Executive – had allowed the current dental “crisis” to develop.