DENTISTS going private are putting pressure on others in Darlington to close their books to NHS patients.

Uncertainty about what will happen in April, when the Government hands over the funding and running of NHS dental services to primary care trusts, is aggravating the situation.

The change will see dentists who agree to contracts getting a fee per patient, rather than per treatment they carry out.

Several local dentists have closed their books to NHS patients in the past month, some as a temporary measure.

A spokeswoman for Lacey, Wright and Kendrew in Duke Street said: "At the moment we aren't taking NHS patients because we are so busy. There are not enough hours in the day.

"Quite a lot of dentists have gone private and we are getting inundated with new patients.

"We hope once the holidays are over and we are back to normal we may be able to start taking them again. It is a problem for a lot of patients, but we have to ensure we give quality care to the ones we already have."

Cleveland Terrace dental practice has informed its adult patients that, from October 1, it will offer only independent dentistry unless patients are on benefits, including tax credits. It gives the others the option of a monthly-paid dental care plan.

"We have more than 10,000 patients at the practice, but will be able to accommodate only 5,000 on the care plan," it points out.

Margaret Matthews, chairman of the County Durham area local dental committee, is also a NHS dentist.

She said the uncertainty over the new contracts made it a challenging time for dentists as well as patients.

"County Durham and Darlington have six PCTs, all working together, but it has been a steep learning curve for them as they knew nothing about how we were paid, fee lists, scales and how much we earn.

"I have said I want all dentists to sing from the same hymn sheet, so we don't have inequalities across the county."

She said private dentists would not necessarily earn more money, because they would be working at their own pace, giving patients much more time.

"I personally don't see that the new contracts would benefit my patients," she said. "I am 99pc NHS."

But there is another side to the coin as far as the Middleton St George dental practice is concerned. "People don't seem to know we are here," said the receptionist. "We even have free parking. But just now we are having to do an advertising campaign for NHS patients."

It is also worth ringing around, as some dentists have yet to close their books.

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