The future of NHS dentistry in Northern Ireland "hangs in the balance" as years of tighter margins and punishing schedules has forced many into the private sector, it has been claimed.
It follows concerns raised by a Stormont MLA that the dentists’ NHS exodus is leaving a mass of patients without care.
Scores of constituents have contacted the office of Independent East Derry MLA Claire Sugden after being unable to find any available dentists to treat them. Of the few who still carried out work for the NHS, no dentists were taking on new patients.
