YORK could play a crucial part in easing the country's crippling shortage of dentists, it has emerged.

The new York-Hull Medical School is being considered as a possible site for a new dentist training centre.

City MP Hugh Bayley has asked Health Minister Rosie Winterton if she would welcome a bid by the school.

The centre would be asked to train around 60 dentists per year.

The Government has said it wants to create around 200 extra training places for dentists.The majority will be at existing training centres across the UK.

Mr Bayley pushed the case for a York-Hull bid in the House of Commons.

He asked Junior Health Minister Melanie Johnson: "Would the Department welcome an application from Hull York medical school to open a school of dentistry?

Miss Johnson said the Government would "investigate the possibilities" offered by York.

Problems finding a dentist came to national attention last month when hundreds of people spent the morning queuing in the street in Scarborough to register for NHS treatment.

A university spokeswoman said the medical school hoped to make a bid later in the year.

Updated: 10:46 Wednesday, March 24, 2004