Sir,- I am writing to draw your attention to one aspect of this year's retention fee increase, which has the potential to wreak untold havoc and deprive many patients of dental treatment. There is a chronic manpower shortage in dentistry. Many practices rely on the service of semi - retired dentists or lady dentists with young children to assist with domicilliary visits or holiday locum cover. Most of these very part time dentists are motivated primarily by a desire to help or to feel useful rather than by the remuneration involved. Many of them will earn less than £500 a year. Raising their retention fee to the full £388 level will simply mean that they are practically paying to work. The losers will be housebound patients who may no longer have a dentist available to treat them in their homes.