Pledge to recruit 1,000 more NHS dentists

A massive campaign to boost the number of NHS dentists was announced today.

Health Secretary John Reid pledged to recruit 1,000 more dentists in under 18 months to plug chronic shortages.

A recruitment campaign will be launched at home and abroad, targeting dentists from the EU. Lucrative contracts will be introduced to stop NHS dentists defecting to the private sector. The number of places at dental schools will also be increased.

The reforms, to be unveiled today, follow pressure on ministers to address the shortage of state dentists. The situation is particularly serious in London, where barely a third of people are registered with a dentist in some areas.

Today, Mr Reid promised to spend an extra £359million - increasing the budget for NHS dentistry by 19 per cent.

Britain currently has about 19,000 "high street" dentists who are not based in hospitals - about 4,000 more than when Labour came to power. However-thousands of those who used to work only for the NHS have gone private, claiming poor pay and bureaucracy mean it is no longer worth their while to work for the state.

Under the new plans, the Government will increase financial incentives for dentists to carry out NHS work. Local authorities will be given new powers to offer better pay deals to encourage dentists to work in less privileged areas.