MORE than 43,000 people in York risk catching gum disease and oral cancer because they do not have a dentist, according to a shock new survey.

The claim has been made by Yorkshire healthcare provider LHF - part of Simplyhealth Access - after a survey was carried out on its behalf.

Researchers questioned 1,000 people in York to come up with their findings. If they are correct, it would mean nearly a quarter of York's entire population - 181,000 people - are not registered with any dentist, whether privately or on the NHS.

According to the survey, 24,000 people are unregistered with a dentist in Huddersfield; in Keighley, 15,000; in Pontefract, 5,000; in Wakefield, 91,000 - while central Leeds had 114,000.

York Dental Society president Dr Peter Mikola said he was "amazed" by the survey's findings - and said they might not give an accurate picture.

"I'm quite amazed it's such a high number. I wouldn't have expected that at all. York is not one of the run down areas," he said.

"The main danger would be that they (people with no dentist) are going to end up with rotten, bad teeth."

Jane Fenwick, director of marketing for LHF Healthplan, said: "We carried out the research to see exactly how the national dental crisis is affecting Yorkshire and it is shocking to see that in 2006, more than 40,000 people in York are still without a dentist.

"Cost is still a worry for those who do have access to a dentist and it's understandable that 25 per cent of people tend to steer clear of the dentist if they feel nothing is wrong for fear of bills."

A spokesman for Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) said just over half of the trust's population - which is about 270,000 - were registered with an NHS dentist.

He said: "Selby and York Primary Care Trust has maintained a consistently high level of NHS dental registrations, currently around 55 per cent of the PCT population.

"The number of people who are without an NHS dentist is difficult to estimate, as there are always those patients who prefer not to register, but who access services only when they need treatment, and those who prefer to register privately.

"On our dental database, we currently have 6,000 people who have expressed their wish to receive NHS dental services. We are now working with those dentists who have made a commitment to NHS dental services to increase capacity and we are looking to implement this capacity as soon as possible."

Updated: 10:32 Friday, April 28, 2006