ALYTH RESIDENTS have received the bombshell news that dental services are being withdrawn from the town later this year.

As Scotland’s dental crisis deepens, the only local surgery, Caledonian Dental Care, has announced it is shutting its doors in August.

Letters informing unaware patients they will still be registered with the practice but will have to travel to Perth for treatment dropped through doors yesterday morning.

Caledonian Dental Care’s main Perth operation will remain unaffected.

Practice partner John Cockburn said they have bowed to the inevitable after eight months of trying to prop up the smaller service.

Dentists have been travelling from Perth to take surgeries and adverts to attract a new member of staff have come to nothing.

The Alyth practice has been up for sale as a going concern but the national shortage of dentists has prevented a sale.

He said, “Since October when one of our dentists left for Australia, we have kept it going but it has become unsustainable.”

He said the under-funding of dental services in Scotland, leading to a drain of staff abroad and to private practice, is to blame.

Alyth councillor Ian Miller said the suggestion patients should travel to Perth is “unacceptable”.

“The fact is that for elderly or disabled members of Alyth community there will be no service as they will be unable to make that journey.

“The lucky few may be able to enlist with a Blairgowrie practice, a distance of five miles, but even that will be unacceptable to many.

“I fully understand the national problem of the lack of dentists throughout Scotland but it is no consolation to those directly affected that the Scottish Executive is belatedly talking about addressing the issue.

“The action to prevent this situation should have been taken many years ago when the problem became apparent.

“Urgent initiatives need to be taken now to address it.”

North Tayside MSP John Swinney was equally aghast at the news.

He said, “Although reassurance has been given that current NHS patients will continue to receive NHS treatment, it is grossly inconvenient for them to have to travel to other practices.

“I believe that patients may have to travel as far as Perth. This will be impossible for elderly and infirm patients.

“I understand that one of the dental surgeries in Blairgowrie has already been inundated with requests from Alyth residents wishing to register.

“This is just another concerning action within dental services in Scotland.

“I will be making representations to NHS Tayside to investigate what exactly the situation is in Alyth and what solutions they can come up with.

“Patients should be entitled to receive dental treatment on their doorstep.”