Health Minister Rosie Winterton acknowledged a shortfall of NHS dentists but said US$170 million in new funding and a recruiting program for dentists abroad should ease the problem.
In the longer term, Winterton said a government plan to decentralize the dental service, handing more control to local authorities starting next year, would cut bureaucracy and boost service.
Winterton said Prime Minister Tony Blair's government was trying to reverse damage to the dental service under the Conservative Party administrations preceding it, which she said drove dentists out of the NHS by cutting their fees and closing two dental schools.
The NHS dental budget increased from about US$1.88 billion in 1998-1999 to US$2.25 billion in 2001-2002.
Blair has made improving Britain's ailing health service a top priority. While medical care has improved by many measures since he took office, complaints about long waiting lists and inadequate care still abound.
Blair promised in 1999 that all Britons would be able to see NHS dentists within two years, and political opponents point to the long waits in Scarborough as evidence he failed.
"Finding an NHS dentist is like finding a needle in a haystack," said Paul Burstow of the opposition Liberal Democrat party.
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