DESPITE gloomy predictions, NHS dentistry in the North-East appears to have emerged largely intact from the biggest-shake up since 1948.

From Teesside to the Scottish border, more than 90 per cent of all dental practices are staying with the NHS.

But south of Scotch Corner the story is different. The further south you go, the more you are likely to find your local dentist has left the NHS and gone private.

While NHS officials in North Yorkshire stress that many of the practices that have gone private have relatively few patients on their books, there appear to be alarming gaps in provision.

The figures for North Yorkshire are still provisional and it is possible there may be more defections by next week.

The worst affected is the area covered by Selby and York Primary Care Trust where more than one in three dentists (37 per cent) have opted to go private.

Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale is the next worst, with 17.8 per cent of dentists leaving the NHS.

In the Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT area, seven out of 48 practices (17 per cent) have left the NHS.

Only in Hambleton and Richmondshire is the situation more upbeat, from an NHS point of view.

The latest figures from regional health bosses show that all 19 practices in the PCT area, which includes Richmond, Northallerton and Leyburn, have either signed or are expected to sign NHS contracts.

But this does not tell the whole story. Some NHS contracts are for children only, and adults will have to look elsewhere.

The Government insists the new way of working will improve access to NHS services, but it may take some time for those authorities worst hit by defections to the private sector to provide alternative NHS treatment.

One of the leading experts in the region on the changes to the NHS, Dr David Landes of Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, said that under the new system, any dentist who leaves the NHS will forfeit a sum of money which will remain in the local PCT coffers.

That money will be used to increase the number of dentists employed by dental practices remaining within the NHS and could lead to private companies moving in to set up new practices.