During the Senedd this week, Jane Dodds pressed the Labour Government on dental provisions in mid Wales, warning that current provisions meant there was a “two-tier system” in place.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales says the system means that the rich who can afford to go private could get access to dental care, whereas those who are less financially secure are left on waiting lists.

Ms Dodds’ question to the Labour Health Minister comes on the back of a public meeting in Llandrindod Wells last month where local people described being left in agony, sometimes for months, due to being unable to see an NHS dentist.

Previous research by the Liberal Democrats shows over 20 per cent of dentists in Powys and Ceredigion are set to retire soon, making Mid Wales a potentially greater dental desert than it is currently.

Over the summer, two of Newtown’s dental practices shut down, leaving just two practices to serve the largest town in Powys with a population of over 12,000.

Recent polling also revealed that over a fifth of Welsh people (22 per cent) tried to get a local NHS dentist appointment in the last year but couldn’t get one.

Questioning the Health Minister in the Senedd Jane Dodds MS said: “There is currently a wait of around two years for people to be able to see an NHS dentist in Wales.

“We need to see plans from the Welsh Government to ensure that people in Mid Wales are able to see an NHS dentist in amble time and are not left waiting in pain.

“It is not acceptable that currently we are being left with a two-tier system where the well-off can afford to go private and those, who are probably in the highest need, on lower incomes are left waiting in agony for treatment, unable to register for an NHS dentist.”