False teeth scare

A shortage of false teeth is looming as new regulations threaten to put thousands of denture-makers out of business.An estimated 5,000 dental technicians, known as denturists, make more than half of the false teeth used by Britain's estimated 13 million denture wearers.

Under rules introduced by the General Dental Council, denturists will be banned from working in the UK unless they have passed an approved course and have registered with the GDC.

After July 31, those who continue to work without having registered will face fines of up to £5,000 and a prison sentence of up to six months.

Tony Ward, the chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Denturism and owner of a dental clinic in Darlington warned that waiting times for a set of false teeth could double when the regulations come into force.

"We're all up in arms, and so are our patients," he said. "False teeth are an old music hall joke, but when you need them yourself it isn't quite as funny."

A spokeswoman for the GDC denied that the rules would lead to a shortage and said that denturists would still be able to manufacture false teeth if they registered and performed their work under dentists' supervision.

However, Mr Ward said: "Many of us have been practising for 20 years or more but, because of the steep penalties, we are going to have to stop and our patients will have to try and find dentists to make their dentures. If we aren't making dentures, there is going to be an enormous shortage. We believe that waiting times could more than double."

Dentures, which cost up to £300 for a full set, need to be replaced on average every five years. Waiting times vary from four weeks to three years in parts of Scotland where gum disease is endemic.