Fewer than half of adults living in the most deprived areas have seen an NHS dentist in the last two years.
There is also an 18% divide between kids from the poorest and wealthiest parts of the country.
Dental health was badly hit during the pandemic, with Scots unable to get treatments during lockdown.
New figures from Public Health Scotland reveal the inequalities that were likely made even worse by covid.
Only 45.1% of adults from the most deprived areas managed to see an NHS dentist over the last two years, compared to over 56.4% from the least deprived locations.
Although 55% of children from the most deprived areas were seen by a dentist in the same time period, the figure was 73.1% at the other end of the affluence spectrum.
It comes as there were 858,407 fewer patients seen by NHS dentists in the last two years compared to pre-pandemic times.
In October, it was reported that the number of dental treatments carried out in the previous year fell to just a quarter of the figure for the previous twelve months.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said:
“It is now clear that the SNP’s catastrophic failure to support Scottish NHS dentists has led to a shocking rise in dental inequality.
“We know already that the very existence of NHS dentistry in Scotland is on the line, with the current funding model leading to privatisation by the backdoor, but now we have the proof that thousands of Scots have not been seen by dentists for years.
“That those from poorer backgrounds, particularly children, are less likely to have received treatment is nothing short of a national disgrace.
“This cannot be allowed to continue.
“Humza Yousaf must wake up to the crisis facing NHS dentistry before it reaches the point of no return.
“Dental care in Scotland cannot be allowed to become the privilege of the few who can afford to go private.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the pandemic-related backlog in routine dental care, and to ensuring dental teams see more patients face-to-face, including those from our most deprived communities.
“The Scottish Government has provided an additional £50 million and substantial amounts of free PPE, to ensure NHS dental services are well placed to care for the oral health of the whole population.
“From this month, we are providing dentists with an additional £20 million of increased fees. This latest package builds on £7.5 million funding for new dental drills and £5 million for ventilation improvements, which has a particular emphasis on children and tackling oral health inequalities.”
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