A DENTAL surgery in a high-need part of Bradford is to close its doors amid recruitment troubles and increased running costs.

Mydentist has confirmed its Buttershaw Lane Dental Care Unit will close at the end of next month in a move Bradford South MP Judith Cummins has described as “deeply concerning”.

Around 3,000 people have been contacted by letter to inform them of the closure, though not all are active patients.

The practice lies in the Bradford South constituency, which, along with 19 other areas across Yorkshire and the Humber, recently received a funding boost to help new patients access NHS dental services.

NHS England said the 20 areas were chosen based on the level of dental activity commissioned, which is lower than elsewhere in the region, the levels of deprivation linked to the areas and the percentage of the population accessing a dentist.

A spokesperson for the practice said: “In common with a number of other dental practices in the area, long-standing difficulties recruiting full time dentists and increased running costs have made it necessary to close the practice.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption.

“Registered patients with open courses of treatment will have their dental care completed before September 28, all patients have been informed of the closure, and we have provided NHS guidance on finding an alternative dental practice.”

Mrs Cummins has slammed the news and said: “The imminent closure of the Buttershaw Lane dental practice is deeply concerning.

“Patients are now left wondering when and where they will be able to see a dentist come the end of September. People in my constituency already struggle to see a dentist as it is - this is a sign of system in crisis.”

She added: “There is a wider problem here that the government must get to grips with. We are losing NHS dentists because the current contract is not sustainable.”

NHS England Yorkshire and the Humber confirmed it had started the process to commission a new local NHS dental service for the area, but the formal procurement process may “take a number of months to complete”.

A spokesperson said: “We are now working towards putting an interim solution in place with current local dental practices in Bradford that have extra capacity to take on more NHS patients, enabling those who attend Buttershaw Lane to access NHS dental care.”

In response to Mrs Cummins concerns about the dental contract, the Department for Health and Social Care said it is “committed” to introducing a new dental contract which is beneficial to the NHS, dentists and patients.