THEY CAN AT LEAST DIE OFF WITH STRAIGHT, CLEAN TEETH:

Vicious circle of blame over dental crisis (ALISON HARDIE AND IAN JOHNSTON, 2/01/05, The Scotsman)

DENTISTS blame the Scottish Executive, Labour politicians complain of the profession’s greed, while consumer groups point to a historic decline.

When it comes to apportioning blame for the current dental crisis, neither side holds fire in blaming the other.

The Scotsman revealed yesterday that the annual number of Scots forcibly removed from NHS dental lists has almost trebled since devolution in 1999. Private dental practices now vie with traditional NHS dental centres for patients, with more and more Scots being forced against their will to go private to obtain the treatment they need.

The British Dental Association (BDA) says its members face a stark choice - spurn most NHS patients and work in the private sector, or go out of business.

They may not want to change theior system of dental care, but the rest of us are thankful.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 1, 2005 7:35 AM