DENTAL patients in some parts of Scotland could be waiting a year for a check-up due to a back-log of routine appointments caused by the closure of surgeries, it has emerged.

Only urgent treatment is continuing to be carried out at 59 dedicated centres across Scotland  after all routine treatment was suspended on March 23 to help minimise the spread of Covid-19.

The centres are open seven days a week but some dentists have been drafted in to hospitals to support other NHS staff treating patients with the virus.

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The dental workforce in Scotland is made up of around 3500 dentists and a further 5000 dental care professionals who are trained in emergency aid.

One Glasgow dentist, who is helping out at a city hospital, said he was told that patients could be waiting up to a year for a routine check-ups.

A spokeswoman for the British Dental Association said: “We don’t know when things will return to normal."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said dental teams will prioritise check-ups for those patients, “who would benefit from seeing a dentist sooner” when surgeries re-open.

The British Dental Association warned last week that many dental practices fear they will collapse because of the loss of private work, which they said effectively subsidises NHS dentistry.

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More than two-thirds of Scottish dental practices (68%) believe they may only be able to survive a maximum of three more months.

In response the Scottish Government said it has established “new measures” to support the industry.

A spokeswoman said: “Urgent treatment is still available from the designated 59 urgent dental care centres across NHS Boards.

“Practices are operating a triage system to refer the most urgent cases to the emergency centres.”

"When practices are able to re-open, dental teams will prioritise those patients whose routine appointment was postponed but would benefit from seeing a dentist sooner.

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