TONY Blair has admitted failure in his bid to provide NHS dentists for all as new figures revealed one in three children in the West Midlands is without one.

Department of Health statistics show that only 59.5 per cent of children have access to an NHS dentist - down from 67.2 per cent in 1997.

Adults have fared even worse, with 40 per cent having an NHS dentist in 2004 compared to 53.2 per cent when Labour came to power.

At the Prime Minister's weekly Question Time yesterday afternoon, Mr Blair acknowledged for the first time that his promise no one would be forced to go private after 2001 had not been met.

Mr Blair said: "I accept there are people who still aren't getting access to NHS dentists."

Until now, the Prime Minister has insisted patients unable to register with a local dentist would be able to get NHS treatment by ringing the free helpline, NHS Direct.

A spokeswoman for the British Dental Association (BDA) said: "It would be very wrong if the Prime Minister was to suggest that everyone had access.

"We get people telling us that they have rung NHS Direct and been told that the nearest NHS dentist to them is 60 miles away."

Last year, the Government pledged to recruit an extra 1,000 dentists by October this year and to increase training places by 25 per cent, with a £250m annual budget boost.

Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman who obtained the figures, said: "Getting the Prime Minister to admit that not everyone has access to an NHS dentist has been like pulling teeth."