THREE collapsed teeth, two crowns and a cap that need replacing - no wonder Andrew McAssey needs a dentist.

But after months on the North Yorkshire NHS dental waiting list to no avail, fed up Andrew, of Bad Bargain Lane, York, is travelling all the way to Liverpool just to get his teeth fixed.

He said: "It's just easier to go down to Liverpool. It's a massive city, there are dentists all over the place.

"All my teeth that have got bits falling off - the longer I leave it, it gets to the point where you can't repair them."

Andrew's story follows our report earlier this week about Craig McKibbin, of Goodramgate, who was making six return trips to London for root canal work after enduring four months stuck on an NHS waiting list in North Yorkshire.

Andrew, 34, said he had suffered from dental problems ever since his front two teeth were knocked out playing football as a child.

He has suffered from numerous abscesses and collapsing teeth and tries to get them seen regularly to prevent problems spreading.

He registered on the primary care trust's dental database after moving down to York from Edinburgh in June with his partner and young daughter - and is also now on incapacity benefit because of ill health. He had been unable to see an NHS dentist in Scotland for 18 months due to lack of availability.

Andrew's most recent problems began about a fortnight ago when another of his teeth collapsed. A medic at NHS Direct advised him to visit the emergency dental service at Monkgate walk-in centre, but he was told he could not be treated there because he was not in pain.

He then tried to book a private appointment, but was told there would be a £45 consultation fee, which he could not afford out of his benefit cheque.

That was when he decided to book an NHS appointment in Liverpool, where his parents live, which he managed with no trouble at all.

Now he plans to claim his travel expenses to the city back from the NHS.

"I'm really angry. The decision-makers are making decisions that affect people's lives," he said.

"It's not the PCT's fault - they're controlled by central Government."

North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust has said it is planning to put in place provision for 8,000 new NHS dental patients.

A spokesman said nearly 8,000 places had already been allocated since the start of the dental database in Selby and York in September, 2005.

Latest figures show that there are still 3,896 people on the list.