Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has told parliament it is "almost impossible" to find an NHS dentist here and has called for more to be done to encourage overseas experts to base themselves in the UK.

Mr Seely said the Island, like other areas, is "significantly suffering" .

He took part in a debate just days after the government announced a one-off additional £50 million for NHS dental services.

Mr Seely has warned "the immediate consequences of this is not only sore teeth and toothache, but actually dangerous", citing concerns over serious diseases going undiagnosed, including oral cancers.

The shortage of NHS dentists has been made worse by Covid-19, which created backlogs and some argue Brexit has meant qualified dentists left the UK.

Mr Seely called for the Government to grant the General Dental Council (GDC) greater discretion over the recognition of overseas dental qualifications.

He also wants an adaptation course, to help experienced, qualified overseas dentists work here and recognition of qualifications across European Economic Area countries, along with those overseas "potentially as part of future free trade agreements."

Mr Seely also wants measure to recruit 1,000 new dentists within 12 months.

He said: "That could specifically be targeted at the Indian subcontinent, which according to all the dentists and dental experts I speak to… produces very high standards of dentists, and secondly overproduce the number of dentists that they need.”

At the same debate, Giles Watling, Conservative MP for Clacton, said the UK should use its "Brexit freedom to open the nation to the dentists of the world we have so long spurned."

Health minister Maria Caulfield said the Government is exploring changes that would "really open up dentistry to those who are overseas trained."

Ms Caulfield said the Government is "keen to expand dental training" but conceded new dental schools, which the Isle of Wight's MP has also championed, would take up to five years to be effective.

The British Dental Association has also called on the Government and the dental regulator to deliver "rapid change" to the laws governing tests for overseas dentists, PA reported.