Almost a third of people in Scotland are not registered with an NHS dentist, latest figures from the National Health Service have revealed.
According to official statistics, just 70 per cent of Scots were registered with an NHS dentist at the end of June.
Registrations were highest in Ayrshire and Arran where 75 per cent of the population had signed up for NHS dental care, while both Grampian and Highland had the lowest proportion of people registered with an NHS dentist (less than half).
Shona Robison, Scotland’s public health minister accepted there were problems in some parts of Scotland but welcomed the overall increase in both child and adult dental registrations over the three months to June.
She also praised the construction of 13 new dental surgeries across the country.
However, Liberal Democrat public health spokesman Jamie Stone said the Government should investigate why nearly one in three Scots are still without access to NHS dentistry .
He said: "Almost a third of the population still aren't registered. We introduced free dental checks and they're a key tool in the battle against tooth decay ."
"But if people aren't registered with an NHS dentist, they can't access free checks. The Scottish Government needs to look into why so many Scots still aren't registered."
