A LACK of NHS salaried dentists means patients will have to wait longer between routine check-ups.
The salaried dental service - which consists of those dentists directly employed by the government that only deal with NHS patients and no private patients at all - has seen five dentists leave in a matter of months.
One new dentist has been recruited but the Department of Health said it has been difficult to replace the rest and the workload generated by the number of patients compared with the remaining number of dentists has become unworkable.
The Department of Health said it is proving impossible to offer the usual level of service.
Appointments will be prioritised for patients with toothache or who need treatment together with those who have been waiting the longest for a recall appointment.
This means patients with generally good dental health will have to wait longer between routine check ups until the department can recruit more dentists.
Patients at two salaried dental service clinics will be affected - those who attend the Central Community Health Centre in Westmoreland Road in Douglas and those who go to the Hillside Dental Clinic in Ballakermeen Road, Douglas.
Approximately 12,000 patients are registered with the Central Community Health Centre while there are 9,350 at Hillside Dental Clinic.
There are 13 dentists currently employed by the salaried dental service - nine of them treat routine patients and four of them work in the community dental service for patients with additional needs.
The community dental service for vulnerable patient groups will not be affected by the changes.
The department said patients with dental problems will be offered an appointment as soon as possible within a 48-hour period and patients undergoing existing treatment will have that course of treatment completed.
Health Minister David Anderson said: "The department is committed to securing the future of NHS dental services for the people of the Isle of Man and I wish to reassure patients that we are working hard to do this.
"I need to make it quite clear that this is not a cut in service - it is simply a matter of presently being unable to fill vacant posts, which sadly is a familiar problem throughout the UK."
