Something to smile about for dental patients (From York Press)

Something to smile about for dental patients

9:26am Monday 7th May 2012 in News By Richard Catton , richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

THOUSANDS of people have finally been able to register with an NHS dentist in York or North Yorkshire – and health bosses say thousands more places remain.

NHS North Yorkshire and York announced a £5.2 million investment in March, opening up 14,500 new NHS dental places in York, Selby and Ryedale.

The latest figures from the trust show that since March 12, a total of 4,274 people have registered for the places. At the start of March, there were a total of 9,553 people on the waiting list.

Lorraine Naylor, assistant director of primary care services at the trust, said there was still time to register for a place.

She said: “It’s encouraging that so many people have registered since we announced the extra NHS dental places back in March.

“However, there are still spaces available, so if you are looking for an NHS dentist, now is the time to register to ensure you get a place as quickly as possible.”

An advertising campaign was launched by NHS North Yorkshire and York in March, urging people to register for the extra places, which include 10,800 in York, 1,500 in Selby and 1,100 in Ryedale.

The process will see the opening of a new dental surgery in York next month, as well as access to orthodontic services for an extra 3,215 people in our region.

In February 7,300 York residents were waiting to be allocated a dentist while the average waiting time for people to be assigned a dentist was 237 days in York and 609 in Selby.

People wishing to register can phone free on 0300 303 8010 or go to northyorkshireandyork.nhs.uk