Places pledge by dental officer

The county is one of the worst for access to dental care

England's Chief Dental Officer has assured the people of Cornwall that everyone who wants an NHS dentist will get one.

The county has been identified as one of the worst for access to dental care.

Dr Barry Cockcroft made his comments in Plymouth where he was visiting the city's new Peninsula Dental School.

He said that while he could not specify a definite date "all the basics were in place" to deliver a full NHS Dental service for anybody who needs it.

'Extra funding'

"All the things that were missing previously - the dental workforce, the money - are now there and the extra 11 % funding we are putting in from April," he said.

"It will take longer in some areas than others but certainly all the basics are there now to deliver a really functioning fully comprehensive NHS dental service for anybody who needs it."

The Peninsula Dental School, which will train 64 dentists each year, is the first new dental school in the UK for 40 years.

They will train at Plymouth's university campus initially and then at new facilities being built in Devonport, Truro and Exeter.