By Steve Bargeton, political editor

ALMOST HALF the people in Scotland deprived of National Health Service dental treatment this year live in Fife and Tayside.

Shocking figures out yesterday underline the crisis in the state dental service in Scotland, with Fife bearing the brunt.

Last year, 977 people were de-registered from dental practices in Fife. Scottish Executive figures obtained by Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Tricia Marwick (pictured) yesterday show the number of NHS patients in Fife who have had their registration “withdrawn” this year is a staggering 10,540 out of a Scottish total of 32,713.

In Tayside 776 patients were de-registered last year and 4537 this year.

Last night Mrs Marwick said she was “simply horrified” by the depth of the dental crisis in Fife.

“These shocking figures support the evidence I have been getting from people who cannot get an NHS dentist,” she said.

“These are people can never afford to pay for private dental care.

“There is a dental crisis in Fife.

“The problem is that nobody knew the extent of it until I got these figures.”

During a recent debate on the crisis in the Scottish Parliament, Mrs Marwick tackled deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald on the plight of one constituent who has had NHS treatment withdrawn.

“What advice can the minister give to a 77-year-old constituent from Kirkcaldy who last week found that she had been de-registered from her dental practice and was refused registration by three dentists?” she asked.

“When I spoke to Fife Health Board yesterday, all that it could offer me was the number of a dental helpline that she could phone in an emergency.”

The minister said he was “very concerned that a small number of dentists have chosen to treat their patients with such disrespect as to de-register them without providing them with alternative options.”

A spokesman for NHS Fife said, “The situation is a national problem and is not unique to Fife. The increase in the number of de-registered NHS patients has been a result of several general dental practitioners indicating a move toward private funding for patients and the retiral of a practitioner from the NHS list.”

The spokesman said that £200,000 has been invested for the creation of a three-surgery dental access centre at the Lynebank Hospital in Dunfermline.

Scottish Executive funding has been approved for a second seven-surgery centre in Kirkcaldy expected to become operational in mid-January.

NHS Fife has also appointed seven Polish dentists who will join the dental workforce in February to work throughout Fife.

Asked what advice NHS Fife is giving patients who aren’t registered with an NHS dentist, the spokesman said, “At present, general dental practitioners hold their own waiting lists.

“The uptake of patients depends on their availability of appointments.

“Advice in relation to this and emergency care can be obtained by contacting the Dental Advice Line on 01592 740230.

“Same day emergency care is available for any pre-school or school age child and special need adult as well as ongoing care for these cases.”