NHS dental care in Dumfries and Galloway has come under the spotlight at Holyrood.
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson revealed his correspondence on the matter had “grown dramatically” in recent weeks during a debate at the Scottish Parliament.
Many people in the region are currently facing a choice between waiting months for NHS care or paying for private treatment.
And Mr Carson voiced concerns about a “worrying gap” in services in the south west.
He highlighted a case where a constituent was struggling to get care for her children as most dentists would only take on youngsters if their parents registered privately.
The Tory MSP said: “There are a few exceptions – one dentist in Dumfries is still accepting NHS patients – but that would involve my constituent taking a 150-mile round trip.
“Most dental practices state that they are full and unable to take on children, yet if she paid, all of a sudden, her children could be seen. That discriminates against those from less well-off backgrounds .”
The regional health board’s interim director of dentistry Alison Milne last year warned that services in Dumfries and Galloway were in a “very fragile” position due to staffing shortages, a backlog created by the coronavirus pandemic and the loss of practices in Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart.
During the Holyrood debate, SNP MSP Christine Graham pointed out that from February 7, dentists were being offered £25,000 a year to go into “areas where there is a difficulty with retention”, including Dumfries and Galloway.
And Health Secretary Humza Yousaf urged dentists to report cases of colleagues upselling private plans to their NHS board and pointed out that the proportion of children without dental decay was increasing before the pandemic hit.
He added: “Our record on dentistry and supporting dentists stands on its own. I think that anybody who is fair minded will see that there has been progress and improvement in the oral health of the country.
South Scotland Labour MSP Colin Smyth also raised concerns about patients only being able to get treatment if they went private and suggested the need for a comprehensive review of services.”
