People in the Cotswolds are faced with either becoming DIY dentists or paying for expensive private treatment, such is the lack of availability on the NHS.
Recently the Standard reported that a Cirencester woman had filed her own tooth after being forced to wait three months for an appointment with her NHS dentist.
READ MORE: Woman files her own tooth after three month wait for dentist
Many have also found difficulty in registering with an NHS dentist to begin with, and an investigation by the BBC found no dentists in Gloucestershire or Wiltshire were currently taking on new adult NHS patients.
In a letter to the Standard Paul Hodgkinson, county councillor for Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach and Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for the Cotswolds spoke of constituent's frustrating search for an NHS dentist.
"In the end he had to pay for the treatment his family needed in a private dental practice," he said.
"He is not alone. This is happening to a lot of us.
"Hard-working families and pensioners are struggling to find the affordable care that they need.
"At a time of huge pressures with the cost of living, the Government must act. New plans need to be brought forward urgently to recruit more local NHS dentists, so no matter where you live you know you can get the NHS dental care you need.
"People in our area should know if they are in pain or face a health emergency that the NHS is there for them. Our NHS and GP/dental surgery staff are fantastic but these awful figures prove that NHS dentistry in our area is at breaking point."
MP for the Cotswolds, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said: "I have already been in contact with the Department for Health and Social Care regarding the difficulties some constituents are having in accessing dental services.
"In some areas, there is a backlog from the pandemic and pressures on services mean they are not yet delivering at pre-Covid rates.
"The Government has provided £50 million in funding across England to support the delivery of 350,000 additional dental appointments. There is a real need to recruit and train more dentists so the government is looking at creating new entry routes into dentistry.
"I have assisted a number of constituents looking for places locally and will continue to do so on a case-by-case basis."
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