Senedd members backed calls to establish a north Wales dental school but the Welsh Government rebuffed the proposal due pressures on the public purse.

Siân Gwenllian made the case for training dentists in Bangor in her Arfon constituency, warning of an urgent need to improve services in north Wales.

Ms Gwenllian hailed last week’s opening of the North Wales Medical School at Bangor University which aims to train 140 students a year by 2029.

She said a school of pharmacy will also be established in a year, with up to 100 places.

The Plaid Cymru politician described a dental school as the next natural step.

She said: “It did take some time to convince the [Welsh] Government of the need for a medical school, I do hope we can make more progress much more quickly in terms of training dentists for the future in Bangor.”

Leading a debate on 9 October 9, Ms Gwenllian pointed to a 32-page report, entitled Filling the Gaps, which she commissioned.

She told the Senedd that 31 per cent of dental practices in Wales have vacancies but the figure reaches 40 per cent in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board area.

“The situation is very poor across Wales but it’s even worse in north Wales,” she warned.

Ms Gwenllian added: “We need to improve dental services urgently in the area and establishing a dental school … would contribute to meeting those challenges.”

Quoting from the report, she said: “All in all, the case for establishing a school of dentistry in Bangor is very strong, offering opportunities to have a positive impact on the health, economy and education of the region.”

Plaid Cymru’s Mabon ap Gwynfor warned of a crisis in dentistry, saying a constituent had to travel from Bala to Scotland to access NHS treatment.

Health secretary Jeremy Miles said increasing the number of places would be challenging due to financial constraints.

Mr Miles said: “There are no definite plans for such a school, this is not to rule out a second school forever – in north Wales or elsewhere – should the financial climate improve.”