PRIME MINISTER Tony Blair has claimed that controversial NHS contracts being offered to York and Selby dentists represent a "very good deal."

He indicated that if insufficient British dentists were prepared to accept such contracts, the NHS would be prepared to bring in dentists from elsewhere in Europe to fill their place.

Mr Blair was speaking exclusively to the Evening Press only days after the paper revealed that the fate of up to 43,000 dental patients across York and Selby was hanging in the balance.

We reported that a quarter of the region's dentists were quitting the NHS to go private. So far, 11 dentists had walked away from the NHS by refusing to sign new contracts offered by Selby and York Primary Care Trust. Another 11 were still considering their future, but only had until April 1 to make up their minds.

Some dentists, such as Peter Mikola, of Copmanthorpe Dental Practice, claimed the contracts were basically a "glorified cost-cutting exercise by the Government. They want to squeeze patients out of the NHS but they want dentists to do it for them".

After being shown a copy of Wednesday's paper, Mr Blair defended the Government's stance.

He said the new contract would be worth about £80,000 a year for a dentist for five per cent less work.

"We are giving the very best incentive we can," he said. "It's a very good deal, but you cannot force people into a different contract.

"It is a free country.

"We have done everything we can to draw more NHS dentists in but some don't want to." However, he stressed that many dentists were signing up.

Selby MP John Grogan has said that if the undecided dentists fail to sign the contracts, the PCT will have to seriously consider using its funds to bring in dentists from overseas to fill the gaps.

Mr Blair appeared to agree this might be the solution to the problems, saying: "Dentistry increasingly will operate on a European-wide basis and that is perfectly sensible."

Mr Blair said the contract problems came against a background of dramatic changes in dentistry, brought about partly by fluoridation.

"People do not need check ups now every six months," he said. "Dentistry is being done in a completely different way."

Updated: 09:39 Saturday, March 18, 2006