BOLTON is in the grip of a dental crisis.

None of the borough's 32 dental practices are accepting new NHS patients - less than 12 months after a new system was introduced to create more places.

People hoping to become an NHS dental patient have been told to try again in April when more places "could" be available.

Yet Bolton has some of the worst dental health in the country with the average five-year-old having three fillings, missing teeth or experience of tooth decay - three times the national average.

Chris Brooks, an NHS dentist in Bolton, said: "We're very disappointed the reforms have so far shown no improvement.

"It's massively beneficial for people to be able to access NHS dentists, especially in somewhere like Bolton."

New dental contracts were introduced nationally on April 1 last year, which meant dentists could no longer choose how many patients they take on.

Health bosses at the Primary Care Trust now make the decision, since the dentistry budget has been transferred to them.

Despite 39 of the 41 dentists and dental practices in Bolton signing up to the new contracts, people have no better access to NHS care.

But health chiefs have vowed to plough extra cash into dental services in Bolton in the next financial year.

Anna Basford, director of primary care provision at the PCT, said: "We're sorry it's proving difficult at times in Bolton to find an NHS dental practice taking on new patients, but we're confident of improvements in the next couple of years.

"Between April 2006 and March 2007, the first year of the new dental contract, Bolton PCT has been able to maintain the amount of NHS dental work carried out in Bolton at or above the level in the previous year, as well as increasing the availability of urgent dental treatment for people who do not have a regular dentist.

"From April 2007, we are able to invest additional money in this area to provide increased dental capacity - this may be additional dentists at existing practices or even one or more new dental practices.

"A sum of £351,000 has been identified within local development plans for improving dental access.

"The PCT's three year manifesto commits the organisation to improving dental access, and we're currently planning for a 10 per cent increase in NHS dental capacity in the borough in each of the next three years."

Under the new contracts, which were the biggest shake-up in NHS dentistry in 50 years, a check-up, including X-rays, scale and polish and further treatment planning, costs £15.50.

A check-up which results in fillings, root canal work or extractions costs £42.40 and more complex procedures, such as crowns, dentures or bridges cost £189.

A Which? survey revealed patients in the North-west are losing out in a national postcode lottery for NHS dental care.

Its secret shopper' revealed 13 per cent of surgeries in the region were accepting NHS patients, compared to the 36 per cent national average.

In the West Midlands, 63 per cent of surgeries called by Which? said they were accepting new NHS patients.