Little more than a third of dentists plan to reopen when government coronavirus restrictions are lifted on Monday.

A poll by the British Dental Association of 2,053 practices in England revealed 36 per cent intend to return on June 8 with many saying they do not have sufficient protective and were not given enough warning.

The survey found 60 per cent of around 10,000 practices in the country plan to reopen by the end of June.

BDA chairman Mick Armstrong said: "Anyone expecting dentistry to magically return on Monday will only find a skeleton service.

"Those practices reopening now face few patients and higher costs and will struggle to meet demand."

In an email to patients and statement on its website, Norfolk House Dental Care in Gloucester, said they found out about the planned reopening when it was announced at the Government's daily press briefing.

The statement said: "The date of June 8 came as a total surprise to us with no prior communication from the Government or Department of Health as to when we could reopen.

"This is not practicable and we envisage being in a position to reopen at some stage in the week commencing June 15.

"Our focus will be to deal with the emergencies which have accumulated during the lockdown period before moving on to more routine care."

Since routine dental care in England was suspended on March 25, emergencies have been treated at more than 550 hubs via referral from their dentist.