The NHS fee payable to a dentist for a clinical exam and report is about £8.Say about 5 an hour? Try covering the costs of running a small business (nurse, reception, loans, insurance etc) on that hourly rate and you can see why the only option is to take on private work.

Mathew, Lisburn, UK

Another brilliant Labour innovation.

Justin, Hong Kong,

I thought dentists made their exodus in 2004. I was forced into private care and my dentist had the temerity to write me last year to say that if I did not show in the next 6 weeks for another private exam', she'd remove my name from her records. Perhaps all the 1000 opt-outs are in Cambridgeshire!

Annie, Cambridge , UK

Kim,

Are you suggesting that everyone that has been put through university at the tax payers expense be signed into the civil service?
My bank manager went to university paid for by the tax payer. How do you propose you limit his working to serve the public?

Neil Harris, Gloucestershire,

Aren't dentists, like doctors, trained via the taxpayer? If so, then why are we paying to train a profession that will not treat us unless we pay them privately?

Maybe the government should stop paying to train them unless sign a caveat saying they will treat us on the NHS!

kim, london,

They should be the same as everyone else. If they are over paid then they should pay it back. Prosecute those who dont for fraud or deception.

andy, london,

If the NHS applied the same rules to doctors, your local GP would be allowed to saw your foot off, but not to treat your diabetes.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

Why moan at dentists earning a fair wage.They are professionals, who are the among the brightest and hard working people in the country.I bet the majority of people spend more on their hair cuts than they do looking after their teeth.You want the best dental care, then you pay for it.

alistair, Birmingham, UK

655 more dentists? More and more are working part time. A three surgery practice may be staffed by 6 dentists throughout the week. These are all counted using Barry's stats. Dont be fooled.

Paul, Wirral,

Returning after 20 years to the UK for a visit I was shocked at non-NHS availability of treatment (yes have paid contributions) and at the huge cost of private. Dentists seem to have become gold diggers not gold (or amalgam) fillers.

Phil, Hong kong,

The problem is that dentists are pure greed. Long gone are the caring health professionals in dentistry who prioritise patient care - it's time the DoH redesigned dentistry and cease contact with private practitioners completely. More pure NHS practices on the high street are needed.

Nick, Derby,

it not jsut about quantity of practices it is also about quality - and the targets should be based on quality of treatment not on quantity - to rush a filling means that filling needs to be replaced quicker...contracts all wrong someone needs to admit it.

Amit Hindocha, birmingham, uk

So we can expect our Dentists to propose unnecessary filings and extractions of healthy teeth in order that they can meet their NHS targets? Not the sort of incentive the country needs to encourage more trips to the dental surgery.

Bob, Reading,

The bell tolls for the NHS.....RIP.

Raj, Nairobi, Kenya

Tell us what the average dentist earned after the payback?

campbell, Southampton,

What the CDO fails to point out is that nearly all the new dentists are recently qualified foreign dentists who end up staying for a couple of years. These are the 'extra' dentists - whereas UK trained and qualified dentists are enthusiastically looking for work in the private sector.

Merseymike, Liverpool,

Allowing the NHS Dentist and hospital Consultants to straddle both NHS and private work simultaneously enables them to have a cake and eat it. Let them choose only one, then there will be true competition. The fee and availability of both NHS and Private service will improve

raj, harrow, uk

So this explains why suddenly my local dentist opened his patient list to new NHS patients I think.

From services provided so far, I am certain I will NOT be getting the full treatment I desperately need (instead of pain management) and deserve for having paid into the system.

It's a disgrace

Somė, Manchester, UK