MORE than 3,500 patients in a rural dental practice are concerned about the future care of their teeth, writes LIZ WATKINS.

At the moment, they can obtain NHS treatment at the surgery at The Old Bakery in Ewyas Harold.

But with news that the practice is up for sale come fears they will lose the service.

Some patients have already been told by Herefordshire Health Authority that their NHS registration will cease on February 8.

And the same letter says "At this present time, there are no NHS dentists registering new NHS patients in Herefordshire.''

It reminds patients that emergency treatment for the relief of pain can be obtained at the Gaol Street Health Clinic in Hereford every evening and on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

But Charmane James the authority's primary care support manager said it was hoped the situation at Ewyas Harold would be resolved by February.

She confirmed that the practice, privately owned, was on the market and she understood there was optimism over a sale which would allow NHS treatment to continue.

Mrs James said that many of the patients on the books at Ewyas Harold lived nearer to Hay on Wye than Hereford and could receive NHS treatment there, while others could go to Abergavenny.

The Government has given health authorities in Herefordshire money to set up NHS dental clinics in Hereford, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye, Kington and Ledbury. It has also provided the cash for a state of the art mobile dental surgery primarily for use in rural areas.