YORK and North Yorkshire do not have an "acceptable" number of dentists, a new report has revealed.
According to a study by the International Journal of Health Geographics, the county's Primary Care Trusts have fewer dentists than former Eastern bloc country Poland.
York and Selby PCT has 123 dentists - 0.45 for every 1,000 residents.
Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale PCT has 60 dentists, a ratio of 0.38, and Craven Harrogate and Rural PCT has 87 dentists, or 0.87 per 1,000 people.
According to the report's authors, the minimum acceptable level is 0.5 dentists per 1,000 population.
The figure is achieved in Austria, Canada, Italy and Poland.
The Department of Health said it had injected an extra £50 million to tackle the dental crisis.
The cash will be shared among Britain's 28 Strategic Health Authorities. North Yorkshire will receive about £1.64 million.
Updated: 10:31 Monday, May 17, 2004
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