Ullapool: The Highland community facing a 100-mile trip to see a dentist

People in Ullapool are facing a 100-mile round trip for dental care after the village's only dentist retired.

NHS Highland has been unable to recruit a replacement and has suggested patients register with private practices in Gairloch or Inverness.

Those unable to afford private dental care have been unable to find NHS dentists taking on new patients.

Earlier this week the British Dental Association (BDA) warned of a crisis facing dentistry in Scotland.

NHS Highland blamed a national shortage of dentists for the situation in Ullapool.

Sue Pomeroy, from Little Loch Broom, is among local people "desperately" trying to find an NHS dentist.

"I've phoned everywhere, practices as far as Easter Ross, but no-one is taking on NHS patients.

"One dentist told me I could be added to their waiting list but it's a year-and-a-half long. My friend has contacted 20 different dentists.

"I've got children who need regular check-ups, and I need follow-up treatment after dental surgery."

Her former dentist served the town, which has a population of 1,500, and its outlying areas.

Some have signed up for private care but Ms Pomeroy said this may not be affordable for people with families, or accessible for older people.

Inverness and Gairloch are both more than an hour's drive away from Ullapool.

Jonathan Miller, 66 has lived just outside Ullapool for the last 30 years. He told BBC Scotland that the cost of private dental care as well as fuel costs could put him off attending the dentist.

He said: "It's a round trip of around 110 miles, which is a couple of hours there and back, you can't just nip out to the dentist.

"If it's going to cost me upwards of £78 to go to Inverness just for a check-up, I'm not going to bother."

He has concerns that the lack of preventative care may lead to bigger dental issues in the future, which will end up costing him even more money.

Mr Miller said he felt people were being "forced to go private", adding: "It starts with teeth, but where does it end?"

He said it was the latest in a line of cuts that was making it "increasingly difficult and expensive to live in rural areas."

A spokesperson for NHS Highland said patients affected by the Ullapool surgery's closure had been given the option to access private dental care.

Children have been offered access to NHS dentistry.

Earlier this week the professional body for dentists warned that NHS dental staffing problems could get worse.

Speaking to the BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland, BDA Scotland director Charlotte Waite warned that 80% of dentists planned to reduce their NHS commitment this year, with 30% saying they would leave the profession or seek early retirement.

She said dentists were struggling with patient backlogs and soaring running costs, meaning the fees they were paid to offer NHS services were no longer covering the cost of carrying out the services. This means many dentists are operating at a loss.

The BDA has asked the Scottish government to bring payment reform forward.

Ms Waite said: "If they don't sort out and reform the funding of this system there is a real risk that they will lose even more dentists from the NHS service."

A Scottish government spokesperson said NHS Highland had now received expressions of interest for opening new dental practices, and the government would work with the health board to provide funding support if the applications were successful.

The government is also continuing to work "apace" on payment reform.