ONE in four NHS dentistry patients have gone more than five years without an appointment, according to Scottish Labour.

The party says that figures obtained from a freedom of information request show that 1.3 million patients registered with an NHS dentist have not been in the last five years.

This includes 65,915 under-18s and is in addition to the 270,000 patients not registered with an NHS dentist at all.

Scottish Labour community health spokesman Joe Long said: “It is deeply concerning that so many Scots are going for years on end without dental care. NHS dentistry is at breaking point, and too many Scots are at risk of falling through the cracks — including thousands of children.

“[SNP First Minister John Swinney’s programme for government was an opportunity to set out new ideas to fix these serious problems, but it failed to deliver.”

The Scottish government was approached for comment.