Thousands of patients no longer have access to NHS dentists compared to 1997, according to latest Government figures.

The number of people registered with NHS dentists in Brighton and Hove fell from 153,963 in 1997 to 131,897 at the end of January this year.

According to the figures, across Sussex as a whole there are 109,142 fewer NHS registered patients than eight years ago.

Department of Health statistics show 38.1 per cent of adults in Sussex have access to an NHS dentist, down from 48.9 per cent in 1997. A third of children now lack access.

The figures, obtained by Conservative MPs in response to a question raised in Parliament, do not include around 30,680 Sussex patients being treated by NHS dentists working under a contracts system that did not exist when Labour came to power.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said there was a shortage of 4,000 dentists in England and Wales.

John Renshaw, chairman of the BDA's executive board, said: "We have all seen the images of people queuing for hours just to register with an NHS dentist and there is no doubt that access to dental care is extremely important to voters across the country.

"Parliamentary candidates from across the political divide must recognise this and act to help solve the UK's dental crisis."

The Government is training an extra 170 dentists every year but as it takes five years to qualify the benefits of this will not be seen until the end of the decade. An effort is being made to recruit dentists from Eastern Europe and dozens of Polish dentists are already working in England and Wales.

The High Street Dental Surgery in Newhaven was the first in Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust to have a Polish dentist, Agnieszka Bortnik, who started work last month.

Practice manager Tracie English said: said: "It has worked out really well, the patients really like her and we like her as well. There is another induction of Polish dentists coming up in June and we have been asked if we would like to take on another.

"We have put our name forward because there is a lot of demand for dentistry in Newhaven."