"DENTISTRY is being done in a completely different way" - Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking in York last March.

Well, it certainly is for Craig McKibbin, the York man who travelled all the way to London to find an NHS dentist.

What Mr Blair meant was that dentistry was changing to become more modern, with better contracts to encourage dentists to stay in the NHS, fewer check-ups and recruiting dentists from across Europe.

Fine words, but not much comfort when you are suffering agonies with your teeth. Seven months after Mr Blair implied that things could only get better, Mr McKibbin would beg to differ. He has now travelled more than 2,500 miles in six 440-mile round trips in order to get his teeth fixed. This sounds more like an extravagant plotline from a TV sit-com rather than the painful reality of what life can be like for York patients who are not signed up with an NHS dentist.

Mr McKibbin could have found private treatment but, as he points out, why should he? Instead, he followed the advice he was given to seek an NHS dentist in Sheffield or London.

A civilised society ought to be able to look after its teeth on the NHS, with private practices being there for those who wish to take a different path. The present situation still appears to be woefully lacking. Is it unreasonable to expect that everyone who needs a dentist in York should be found care within the NHS?

The situation, in York and elsewhere, clearly needs to be improved. Otherwise Mr McKibbin's experience could find a painful parallel for many other sore-mouthed people.