Dentists and patients received a boost this week as the Assembly delivered extra funding for dentistry in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire AM Christine Gwyther welcomed the almost £1m that will be invested to improve dental services in Wales. The sum of £550,000 is going directly to dentists and £440,000 to Local Health Boards to support them with changes in dentistry. Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire will receive a share of an extra £510,000 because of extra pressures on dental services in the area. And the Assembly Government has also announced that the number of dental training places in Wales will increase by 17 per cent this September, meaning 64 students will begin their training. Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire AM Christine Gwyther said: "Labour is committed to ensuring that everybody has access to an NHS dentist and this announcement is an important step in the right direction. We have recognised that there are problems in accessing dentists in some areas and I hope this announcement will help. "This is not a one-off commitment. Our Health Minister Jane Hutt has pledged to spend an extra £5.3m on dentistry in Wales and this announcement signals the first batch of funds to be spent. "Only recently our Assembly Government announced a new contract for dentists in Wales, providing more local control over services and allowing dentists to treat patients on the basis of clinical need. "Labour is delivering better dentistry for all and we believe passionately that everyone in Wales should have equally good access to world-class dentistry on the NHS."
