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The Government has responded to growing concerns about long waiting lists for NHS dentists - a problem hitting families across the UK.

Health minister Stephen Kinnock has acknowledged "challenges" in accessing an NHS dentist and said action is being taken to improve availability, particularly in areas with the longest queues for treatment.

It comes after NHS patients who have been receiving state-funded treatment for years have been told they must now become private patients. Others have been on an NHS dentist's waiting list for months, or even years.

The waiting lists in ome UK areas are longer than others due to services not being evenly distributed across the country. These areas with little to no access to NHS dentists are known as "dental deserts" .

However

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