A town's lack of dentists is set to continue after plans to open a new surgery were put on hold.

Thousands of patients in Uckfield were left without a dentist when five of the town's six practitioners withdrew from the NHS when new contracts were issued in March.

Residents have been forced to drive to Crowborough, Lewes and even Eastbourne, 20 miles away, to find an NHS dentist.

In April, Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is responsible for providing dentists in Uckfield, said it would try to find new practitioners to resolve the crisis.

Yesterday, it said it was putting the plans on hold while it assessed the impact of the new contracts and the number of new dentists required.

Patient Ray Bassingthwaighte, chairman of the trust's Patient Public Involvement Forum, said: "What do they need to assess? There's nothing to assess. Everyone knows there are thousands of patients now without a dentist. That's all they need to know."

At a public meeting in May the PCT announced it had received tenders from ten dentists interested in opening practices in Uckfield. It now risks losing their interest while it carries out the assessment.

It has not said how long the assessment would take but said it would discuss the situation at a meeting in September.

The PCT has extended temporary arrangements with three dentists in Crowborough and Lewes which give Uckfield residents priority for urgent treatment. Out-of-hours emergency services are also being improved.

Mr Bassingthwaighte said: "This is a major problem for people in Uckfield and something needs to be done."

Tim Earl, one of the dentists who withdrew from the NHS, wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair to tell him how disgusted he was by the new contracts, which introduced points targets for treatments.

Mr Earl said: "In order to meet the terms of the contract I was offered, I would have had to give each child patient a filling once every six months to meet the points target I was set. That' s ridiculous.

"I believe in preventative practice, I want to make sure children don't need fillings, I don't want to be pressured to make sure I give them enough."

The PCT has a helpline on 01273 403546 for dental advice.