AN MP is calling for urgent action to tackle the dental crisis in his constituency.
Fewer than half of the people in Lancaster and Wyre are registered with an NHS dentist, according to figures just released.
And Ben Wallace MP says the crisis has arisen because the Government has taken too long to come up with a package to attract dentists back to the NHS.
He says: "At best, many people in Lancaster are being forced to go private at considerable expense and at worst those who can't afford it are simply not going at all.
"The latest figures actually show things have failed to improve at all over the last 12 months, with the number people registered with a dentist stuck at 48 per cent.
"Eight years ago, nearly 70,000 people in Lancaster and Wyre were on the books of an NHS dentist - the figure today is just 58,426."
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