Government is planning to remedy the current shortage of dentists while keeping doors in the profession open to young Bermudians, a former member of the Bermuda Dental Board said yesterday.

But Dr. Ronda James said the Health Ministry's proposed policy had been blown off course, in part by to critics who said the Board was acting against the public interest by advising Government to deny new work permits for foreign dentists.

She blasted their accusations as "irrational" and said they were fuelled by a "long history of dislike" for Board chairman Dr. Richard Cann.

Responding to calls by some dentists for his resignation, Dr. Cann said yesterday: "Those individuals are entitled to their opinion. But the Board is an appointed body. I think what they would need to do is communicate their thoughts to the appointees."

Dr. James explained that a policy had been worked out between the Bermuda Dental Association, the Board and the Ministry of Health last year which would have seen foreign dentists allowed to work on the Island for short periods of time while local dental students were away at school.

But she said the proposals had been "put on the backburner" after a scandal last December in which a judge denounced members of the Board - including Dr. James - as having been "biased" when they failed a potential candidate from overseas in a practical examination.

The Royal Gazette was unable to contact Health Minister Nelson Bascome for comment by press time last night.

Dr. James called on the Government to "get back on track" in implementing the policy.

She said the Board was not responsible for the current shortage of dentists because it was waiting for Government to get on with putting the policy in action.

"I hope the Minister will now get back on track with that plan," she said. "The Board would have proceeded in a rational way but it has been tied up. Until Government acts, all it can do is go by previous policy."

She said recent events had "taken the focus away" from what Government was trying to achieve.

And Dr. James added that the matter was not made any easier by comments from certain dentists who "have a history of detesting Dr. Cann" and want to see him resign.

She called on members of the Association to communicate with Government in a proactive way "so that they can get on with what was planned originally".

"I would like to see the Ministry get on with the policy that it already devised because I thought it made a lot of sense. The new policy is Bermudian friendly.

She asked: "What would happen if the doors were just opened and every single dentist were allowed to bring in an associate? It would be difficult to close them again.

"A lot of people are bent out of shape about it but Government was aiming to do this in a sane and rational way so it would not be a nightmare to undo it once it became official policy."

Dr. James said, contrary to allegations by some, the Dental Board was an "extremely efficient" organisation.

And she added: "The chairman seems to have taken the stance of not getting involved and I don't blame him. The Association have been brutal in some of the things they have said.

Yesterday, Association president Dr. Laidlaw Fraser-Smith said he believed the majority of dentists agreed with him that the Dental Board was "wrapped up in its own protectiveness".

He said there was no reason why every dentist who applies to have an associate brought in should not be able to have one and criticised the Board for being too interested in devising "a whole lot of criteria" to make it more difficult to find overseas help.