In recent months, this newspaper has carried several stories on the abysmal state of dentistry services supposedly offered by the National Health Service.

Yes, the use of the adverb “supposedly” is done so with deliberate purpose. To not use it might otherwise indicate a tacit acknowledgement that having to wait for up to five years for a single appointment in parts of Powys might somehow fulfil the meaning of the word “service”.

And yes, trying to see a dentist across swathes of mid Wales is indeed as rare as hen’s teeth.

If this dentistry desert isn’t bad enough, now comes word the one in five people in Wales who failed to get an NHS dentist appointment in the past year have opted to do-it-yourself dentistry.

The poll, commissioned by the Welsh Lib Dems, also showed that 22 per cent of the population of this country tried to get a local NHS dentist appointment in the last year — and failed to get one.

Adding to this dearth of dentistry is the fact too that the current crop of NHS dentists is ageing, with one-in-five approaching retirement age.

The situation is so bad now that about a third of those waiting to get a dental appointment simply throw in the towel.

Going the private route is always an option, but if the government is actually serious about meeting its commitment to provide a health service, then dental care ought to be included.

If we are to believe that the NHS has given up the ghost completely on providing dental care, then the Welsh Government should just say so.

The last thing we need right now is more people waiting — or looking for pliers or string on a door handle to deal with their dental needs.

Our NHS has taken a battering as a result of the heavy burden placed on it by Covid, with so many waiting too long now for other procedures.

The Truss government has determined that its priority is tax cuts, placing the blame for our NHS failings on our GPs not seeing enough patients.

If we are to have properly funded NHS dental — and general — services, that means the government must take a bigger bite from higher income earners. Until then, the NHS will be toothless for all poor suckers.