Bradford does not have an "acceptable" number of dentists per person, a new report has revealed.

According to a study by the respected International Journal of Health Geog-raphics, the district's Primary Care Trusts have fewer dentists per person than former Eastern Bloc country Poland.

But the man in charge of dentistry services across the city today said the problem of getting a dentist was not as bad as the problem suggested.

John Hearnshaw, head of Primary Care Contractor Services in the Bradford district, said: "The study does not take into account NHS community dentists or dentists working in NHS hospitals. Many patients in the Bradford district, particularly children, receive NHS dental treatment through these routes. The study also does not take into account patients who cross borders to see dentists in a neighbouring district such as Leeds.

"The dental system in other countries operates very differently from the system here in Britain - it is not accurate to compare like with like in the way the study attempts to do."

The study did show that Bradford South and West PCT has 33 dentists - 0.24 for every 1,000 residents. This is the 16th fewest in England.

North Bradford PCT has 26 dentists, a rate of 0.29, and Bradford City PCT has 46 dentists, or 0.36 per 1,000 patients.

Calderdale has 67 dentists, a rate of 0.34, Airedale has 45 dentists (0.37 per 1,000 patients) and Craven Harrogate and Rural PCT has 87 dentists (0.87 per 1,000 people).

According to the report's authors - Maged Boulos and Guy Picton Phillips - the minimum acceptable level is 0.5 dentists per 1,000 population. The figure is achieved in Austria, Canada, Italy and Poland. The US, Belgium, Norway and Germany are among a list of countries with more dentists.

The Department of Health has injected an extra £50 million to tackle the crisis.

It will be shared among Britain's 28 Strategic Health Authorities - West Yorkshire has received £2.4 million.

Of this, £120,000 has gone to Bradford South and West PCT, £164,000 to Airedale PCT, £196,000 to City PCT and £127,000 to North Bradford PCT.

Mr Hearnshaw said there were a number of initiatives in place in Bradford, helped by extra funding from the Department of Health, to address NHS dentistry.

"We are working to both retain existing dentists and recruit extra practitioners," he said. "Incentives are being offered to help practices expand and we are supporting recruitment initiatives both in this country and abroad."