South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has criticised the Scottish Government after it was revealed Ayrshire and Arran residents are experiencing huge waits for dental surgery.

According to an FOI carried out by Scottish Labour, patients in the region waited on average 43 weeks for surgery in 2023/24, a rise of 187 per cent compared to 2019/20.

Ayrshire and Arran also saw the longest wait of 121 weeks in 2023/24 – a rise of 152 per cent when compared to 2019/20.

In every part of Scotland except Forth Valley and Orkney, patients were waiting longer than they were in 2019-20.

Colin Smyth said: “These statistics are completely shocking but sadly, no-one in our region will be remotely surprised that once again, people are forced to suffer while waiting for dental surgery.

“Being in pain every time you eat a meal or try to talk is agony for a few days, let alone months or years, but that is the reality for many of those unfortunate enough to be on a waiting list for dental surgery.

“For years, dentistry in Ayrshire and Arran has been in crisis. I am furious the Scottish Government have repeatedly failed to wake up to the growing dental crisis.     

“The double whammy of the Brexit, which meant there are almost no EU dentists coming to the UK anymore, and more significantly, the Scottish Government’s failure to properly fund dentists means practices across the country have axed adult NHS services, forcing people to got private. When people need specialist dental care they are having to wait longer and longer.

“Both Governments have been warned over and over that this would happen but they have completely ignored those warnings.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The overwhelming majority of people receive dental care in a primary care setting. Latest figures show over one million courses of treatment were delivered to patients in the last quarter – highlighting the success of our payment reforms.

“We are supporting NHS Boards to drive improvements in waiting times and are targeting resources to ensure people waiting the longest are treated as soon as possible. We have significant activity underway to target backlogs locally and through our National Treatment Centres, which will provide additional capacity and will see around 20,000 extra procedures a year, once fully operational.”