DEAR EDITOR, - Unfortunately Mr D. C. Waller suffers under a common misapprehension regarding dental services in this country, (What Happened To MPs' 'Free Treatment Pledge', August 6th).
The dental service has never been an integral part of the NHS as are general practitioner services and is not covered by the 'free at the point of delivery' pledge. The reason being that dental practitioners have always worked as private individuals who have contracted their services to the NHS, but have never been employed within the NHS as salaried employees.
In addition to a national shortage of dentists, the problem is that the dental profession believes that the NHS is not paying enough for its services and that dentists can earn much more by offering treatment privately. Hence a major lack of dentists working mainly for patients within the NHS scheme.
The answer to this is for the government - Welsh Assembly Government in Wales - to negotiate a satisfactory payment package with the dental profession which would also commit dentists to offering a service to NHS patients. Perhaps the Assembly could make a start by making dental service free to OAPs as it has with eyesight testing.
BRIAN SHERLOCK Brynheulog, 3 Lavinia Drive, Pembroke Dock.
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