EAST LANCS MP Peter Pike has told the government that it must do more to tackle the crisis caused by the shortage of NHS dentists in the area.

He said that the recruitment of two new salaried dentists in his Burnley constituency was just "a drop in the ocean'' and that much more needed to be done.

His plea comes just two weeks after East Lancashire came top in a British Dental Association survey for tooth decay.

All six East Lancashire constituencies came in the top 30 for five-year-olds with missing, decayed or filled teeth.

Health chiefs in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, backed by East Lancashire public dental health consultant Dr Gary Whittle, have lobbied for fluoride to be added to the area's water supply as the best way to combat the poor oral health record.

Mr Pike, asked ministers what progress was being made to improve access to NHS dental services, while welcoming the recent funding for two additional dentists.

Mr Pike asked dentistry minister, Rosie Winterton MP, about progress being made in the department to improve provision.

She told him: "The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill will give new duties for primary care trusts to secure primary dental services using the £1.2 billion currently held centrally.

"In the meantime, an NHS support team has started work with primary care trusts to overcome problems in areas where it is hardest to find an NHS dentist."

Mr Pike then said: "You will know that two additional NHS funded dentists' posts were announced for Burnley last month.

"But that is just one small step in dealing with a major serious problem in Burnley. Mrs Winterton replied: "I am very much aware of the problems. I think that the new support team has already been once to Burnley, but it will return there with an action plan to look at how the situation can be improved.

Mr Pike said after the exchange: "Oral hygiene in Lancashire suffers one of the worst levels in the country and with twenty per cent of calls to NHS Direct in Lancashire being about access to NHS dentistry there is very clearly a short fall in provision.

"My persistence on this issue is clear and I will continue to drive home the problems until something is done about it."

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson, whose constituency had the joint worst decay figures, said access to dentists was not a problem in Darwen but had been a massive problem in Rossendale. She said: "It's up to the primary care trusts to really try to come up with incentives to attracting dentists to the area.

Dr Whittle said the new powers would help direct resources to areas in dire shortage of dentists. But the biggest problem was the shortage of dentists being trained.