Britons have resorted to pulling teeth out with pliers and a bottle of spirits because of a “national crisis” in dentistry, an industry chief has warned.
Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association chair, said there are no “dental oases” in the country as millions of people struggle to access .
He said: “Talk of ‘dental deserts’ might give the impression there are some ‘dental oases’ out there. There aren’t. We’re not looking at a few ‘hotspots’ but a national crisis affecting millions. But these eye-watering numbers don’t capture the human cost.
“I’ve met with people who’ve reached for pliers and a bottle of spirits when they couldn’t access care. In a wealthy 21st century nation, with supposedly ‘universal’ healthcare, this is an outrage.”
Four out of five dentists in England are not taking on new NHS patients, research released in December showed.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has described part of the East of England as “the Sahara of dental deserts”.
He gave the title to Norfolk and Waveney, in Suffolk, as the state of dentistry in the east dominated the first session of health questions in the Commons after the July general election.
An older man suffering from a toothache (Image: Getty)
Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley, said: “It’s often been said that we have the Sahara of dental deserts in East Anglia. This is the number one issue that people have been contacting me about and it’s because people just can’t get access to an NHS dentist. Some people can’t get access to a private dentist because they’re in such short supply.
“There’s not a single dentist in Norfolk taking on new NHS patients. It’s nearly as bad in Suffolk so people have been really struggling to get access to treatment.”
The co-leader of the Green Party told how a survey from last winter showed a quarter of locals had given up trying to seek treatment.
Meanwhile two thirds said they were forking out money for private dental care despite being unable to afford it.
He added: “There’s been harrowing stories of people resorting to pulling out their own teeth or their children being admitted to hospital because their tooth decay has become too bad. Some people have told us they drive hours to their dentists.”
Adrian Ramsay MP chatting to Express reporter Steph Spyro (Image: Express)
Mr Ramsay, who uses an NHS dentist, called for a reform of dental contracts.
He said: “At the moment, dentists are not paid properly for the amount of work they do. It’s not based on the amount of work but more a set fee per patient. So over time, it becomes uneconomic for those dentists to stay in the NHS and that’s why we’ve seen a mass exodus.
“Any action that’s been taken to bring new dentists into the NHS is being outweighed by the number who are leaving so we need real action to bring back and retain dentists in the NHS. That starts with a reform of the dental contracts which the GOvernment has promised but it’s not set a clear timescale for.”
The Government has pledged to “rebuild NHS dentistry”, starting with an extra 700,000 emergency dentistry appointments.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We will also reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients.
“Prevention is better than cure, so we will also introduce supervised tooth brushing for three to five-year-olds. These changes are fundamental to us building an NHS that is fit for the future.”
Chris Speak was forced to take out a loan to cover his dental bills (Image: Express)
Chris Speak has been forced to spend over £2,500 on dental treatment because he was unable to access an NHS surgery.
The safeguarding warden at an agricultural college, 67, took out a loan to afford the costs for himself and his wife.
He used to be on an NHS life when he lived on a boat in Northamptonshire for 12 years.
But when he returned to Suffolk, he called up to 30 practices hoping to find a dentist.
He was put on a waiting list in Rendlesham where he was told the wait would be several years.
This coincided with a broken tooth and then he and his wife both needing two crowns each.
Chris, who lives in Laxfield, in Suffolk, said: “I was brought up in a generation where kids were fed sweets like nobody’s business. Consequently, I’ve not got the best teeth in the world and it does need regular treatment.
“I’ve ended up having to take out one of these contracts where you pay a monthly fee and you get two hygienist visits and two check ups a year included in that for 10% off.
“That £2,500 was with 10% off as well so it would have cost me £250 on top of that if I hadn’t taken out the dental plan. It’s just expensive.”
“I’ve paid into National Insurance scheme since I was 15 years of age – that’s over 50 years.”
Sarah Bennett has faced several dental issues in the past (Image: Express)
Grandmother of four Sarah Bennett has not had her teeth checked since 2019 because she cannot afford to see a dentist.
The former NHS data management worker, 65, told how her village of Harleston, in Suffolk, has private dentist surgeries only.
She said: “I don’t have a horror story as such. I have quite a long history of dental issues. The difficulty for me has been when I’ve enrolled in NHS dentists where I work, and then come back to my home surgery, I’ve found myself no longer on their list. The consequence of that is that I haven’t seen a dentist since 2019.
“I’m nearly of pension age but not quite so at the moment, I’m living off my savings being too old to apply for a job at 65 I feel with the young people out there I’m competing with. But what that means is I’m living off my savings and a dental check up is £185 privately. I’m not having [my teeth] looked at. I’m ok at the moment but sooner or later, I won’t be and I can’t afford it.”
Ms Bennett told how her children and grandchildren are also trying to finance dental care which is “nearly all privately now.”
She added: “I’m not one of those who has had to pull my teeth out with pliers but I can’t afford to go to the dentist.”
Sarah Statt speaking with her MP Adrian Ramsay (Image: Express)
Sarah Statt has described how she takes painkillers “all day, every day” to mask the pain of four dead teeth.
The 57-year-old, who lives near Beccles in East Suffolk, has not been able to see a dentist in more than four years after her previous practice shut down.
She said: “I haven’t had a dentist since before Covid and I now have four dead teeth which are going grey. I’m on Ibuprofen all day every day to try to mask the pain.
“You look online to see what to do and it says ‘go to the dentist’. But you can’t do that if you don’t have a dentist. Some people have said go to A&E but they’re not dentists. I’m just stuck. There’s so many of us. There’s so many people in the same situation and even worse than me.”
Her previous NHS dentists retired and were unable to sell the practice.
She said: “I thought ‘Oh, that’s fine. I live near Beccles so I’ll go there. I went there but no places. I asked if there was a waiting list, no waiting list. I said ‘so what do you do?’ and they said ‘well, It’s potluck’.”
When her father died a few years back, Ms Statt asked whether she could register in his place but her request was denied because “it doesn’t work like that”.
When asked what impact the pain has had on her, she said: “It restricts you. You’re only allowed to take six of them a day so I have to make sure I time it. You have to be careful what you eat or eat only on one side.”
By Eddie Crouch, British Dental Association Chair
Talk of ‘dental deserts’ might give the impression there are some ‘dental oases’ out there.There aren’t. We’re not looking at a few ‘hotspots’ but a national crisis affecting millions. But these eye watering numbers don’t capture the human cost.I’ve met with people who’ve reached for pliers and a bottle of spirits when they couldn’t access care. In a wealthy 21st century nation, with supposedly ‘universal’ healthcare, this is an outrage.Doubly so, because this crisis was made in Westminster.It’s the result of a decade of savage cuts. The Treasury puts less into dentistry today than it did in 2010. So, we now have practices delivering some NHS treatments at a loss.Then there’s the failed contract we work to, that puts targets ahead of patient care. It pays us the same rate whether we do three fillings or twenty.The perverse system means struggling practices have had to hand back half a billion in funding for failure to hit their targets. During an access crisis this cash has been lost from the frontline. Parliamentary inquiries, respected think tanks and a demoralised profession have all said we need a decisive break. A move to a model that’s prevention-focused, patient-centred, that can stop the exodus of dentists from the NHS.In his recent damning report Lord Darzi provided the same diagnosis and the same prescription.I’ve spoken to dozens of new MPs since the election. On left, right and centre, they all report how big an issue dentistry was on the doorstep, and how it’s now filling up their post bags.There are big and welcome promises from Ministers to draw a line here. But it will require urgency and ambition.If this ends up as another line on a pledge card at the next election, there won’t be a service left to save.