UP to one-in-five dentists in Worcestershire have stopped treating NHS patients over the last five years, new figures have revealed.

Thirty-nine practices have cleared their registers of health service patients, often forcing them to go private if they wish to see a dentist.

Worcestershire Health Authority now has only 152 registered NHS dentists, suggesting the 39 that have dropped out is a decline of around 20 per cent.

Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged two years ago that anyone who wanted to would be able to see an NHS dentist by September this year.

The Government has spent £100m to lure dentists away from lucrative private work and to revamp ageing surgeries.

It has also opened around 60 dentist access centres around the country, where people can book an appointment without registering.

The British Dental Association has warned that large numbers of people are unable to register with an NHS dentist, despite Government promises.

The Department of Health figures, released to MPs, show that eight dentists in Worcestershire stopped treating NHS patients in the year to March, 2001.

That was little changed from the number of drop-outs in 1999/2000 (10), 1998/9 (9), 1997/8 (3) and 1996/7 (9).

Alan McMichael, consultant in public dental health for Worcestershire Health Authority, declined to comment on the individual figures.

"The question is whether people can still be treated in the county on the NHS, and the answer is yes," he said.

"Anyone can see an NHS dentist by phoning NHS Direct. We have emergency practices operating in Worcester, Kidderminster, Evesham, Malvern, and Tenbury, where people can be treated but not registered."

If you need emergency dental help ring NHS Direct on 0845 4647.