Patients pull out their own TEETH at home because they don’t have access to or can’t afford a dentist, reports show
- Underspending on primary dental care for 2022/23 expected to be £400m
Patients have been forced to pull their own teeth at home because they cannot access or afford an NHS dentist, a damning report says.
The Commons Health and Social Care Committee has called for ‘urgent and fundamental reform’ after finding evidence of pain and suffering that is ‘totally unacceptable in the 21st century’.
The document cites a YouGov survey of 2,104 people in the UK conducted in March 2023.
Ten percent admitted to having tried ‘do-it-yourself dentistry’. More than half (56 per cent) of the group carried it out in the past year and 20 per cent said they did so because they could not find an NHS dentist. The poll also found that 22 per cent of Britons were not registered with a dentist, with 23 per cent saying it was because they could not afford treatment.
The committee saw written evidence from more than 30 Healthwatch groups, with case studies from Healthwatch Lincolnshire revealing how people had problem teeth pulled out with forceps or had to make a five-hour round trip to see an NHS dentist.
Ten percent of 2,104 people polled in a YouGov survey admitted to trying “DIY dentistry” (file image)
A roundtable organized by the committee last month also heard stories from patients who felt isolated due to deteriorating oral health. The report said there is ‘considerable regional variation’ in access to NHS dentistry. Those most affected were people from disadvantaged areas, ethnic minorities, the homeless and people with complex needs such as autism.
It also claims freedom of information requests have revealed that underspending on primary dental care for 2022/23 is expected to be £400 million.
Steve Brine, chair of the committee, said: ‘Hearing about someone who is in so much pain and distress that they resort to using forceps to pull their teeth shows the crisis in NHS dental services.
“The problem is compounded by people not knowing what they are entitled to and a contract that is not fit for purpose when it comes to paying dentists to treat NHS patients.” The committee calls on the government to ensure that anyone who needs an NHS dentist has access to a dentist within a ‘reasonable distance’ from their home and within a ‘reasonable time’.
It also calls for a survey to be carried out among dental staff and for a patient information campaign to be rolled out to raise awareness of how NHS dentistry works.
Mr Brine added: ‘What is particularly frustrating is that recommendations made by our predecessor committee 15 years ago to reform the dental contract have still not been implemented.
‘Still, contract reform is unlikely to only bring back dentists who have already left the NHS or are considering leaving in the near future.
‘We endorse the government’s ambition to ensure that anyone who needs an NHS dentist has access to one. Late, now it’s time to deliver it.’ Shawn Charlwood of the British Dental Association called the report ‘a guide to saving NHS dentistry’.
He added: “The real question now is whether the government or the opposition is willing to use it. If you do nothing, this service will fade into oblivion.’