DESPERATE dental patients searching for NHS treatment in Huddersfield have virtually no chance of joining a new practice.

Just two out of 45 dentists in Huddersfield are taking on new patients - with a minimum of a two month wait.

Staff at Dalton Dental Practice told the Examiner it would be "two or three months" before you could see a dentist on the NHS.

And at Park View Dental Practice, at Trinity Street, the only other dentist taking on NHS patients, we were told we faced a waiting list of eight months.

According to the NHS website on Monday the Mr AD & Mr AD Manzoor practice at New North Road, Edgerton, was still accepting NHS patients, albeit with a two to three month waiting time.

However, when we rang, we were told the waiting list had been closed.

The dire situation in gaining dental care in Huddersfield comes while Kirklees is in a precarious position in a national dental league.

North Kirklees was recognised as having the second worst tooth decay in youngsters in Britain.

A survey in 2005 showed that five-year-olds in the area could expect, on average, to have 3.69 decayed or missing teeth.

The situation in Kirklees could be about to worsen with the advent of new dentist contracts to come into force in April.

Under the government scheme dentists would be encouraged to carry out more preventative work and hit targets to be paid a flat rate salary of about £80,000.

Chairman of the Calderdale and Kirklees Local Dental Committee Phil Shaw said dentists did not know whether they would stay in the NHS or go private.

He added: "We have not seen the local offer. We are very much going into the unknown.

"We are being asked to work a new system which has not been piloted anywhere.

"It means increased charges for patients for routine work."

Mr Shaw, of the Dr Shaw and Associates practice in Milnsbridge, said dentists in Huddersfield still had not received their contract offers - despite having only until March 31 to make a decision.

He added: "It has all been a very rushed contract. We can't blame the PCT for this. They've spent a lot of time trying to sort it out.

"Ultimately it is a government imposed `take it or leave it' deal for dentists."