There are now three sides to this growing scandal: a) a major public health issue, causing thousands to live in constant discomfort with their teeth, as they rot because no routine treatment is available b) the flagrant abuse of public funds: why was FIVE MILLION POUNDS spent supposedly to address the "registration backlog" and yet it has not been addressed? c) even the service that has been provided to the lucky few who are registered has been awful, with dentists insisting that patients can, for all except their front teeth, only receive amalgam fillings, which are known to be toxic and are banned in several countries; they are told they cannot receive white fillings on the NHS and need to go private if they want them Here are some facts, listed in chronological order and with sources given. ************************************************ 2011 - Lewis NHS dentists refuse to give white fillings for back teeth, only poisonous amalgam which is banned in several countries (1) 2011 - A large and well-equipped new dental centre is built for £5m, supposedly "to tackle the huge waiting list crisis experienced by islanders in the past to get registered with a dentist". This consists of "2 purpose built surgeries, five of which are specially adapted for training" and "the two storey development provides spacious and modern facilities" (2) 2013 - NHS dentists on Lewis still refuse to give white fillings for back teeth, saying they can only use amalgam (3), even despite cases of actual poisoning as described in the first source 2014 - Two dentists leave the island, an event the Western Isles Health Board is still moaning about (4) 2015 - 4500 people not allowed to be registered on Lewis; WIHB promises that a new dental practice will come within several months - which doesn't happen (5) 2017 - 6000 people now not registered - WIHB says it is "negotiating" with one dentist who may come here in October 2017 if we're lucky (6) Sources 1) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2703896/Woman-toxic-dental-fillings-discovers-mercury-poisoning-blame-crippling-symptoms-mistaken-MS.html 2) http://www.hebrides-news.com/stornoway-dental-centre-4211.html 3) https://www.patientopinion.org.uk/opinions/123434 4) http://www.wihb.scot.nhs.uk/dental-services 5) http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/stornoway-new-dental-practice-on-its-way-1-3885949 6) https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/islands/western-isles/1174377/chronic-shortage-of-dentists-forces-islanders-to-the-mainland-for-treatment/ ************************************************