A lady has said she was forced to pull out her teeth after waiting almost seven years for an NHS dentist appointment.
When Linda Colla, 76, relocated to Nottingham from Devon in 2018, she started looking for a dentist but was soon let down when she discovered that it was harder than she had anticipated.
She says she still hasn’t managed to get an appointment despite the self-administered operation as ‘local practices are not accepting new NHS patients’ and that she can’t afford to seek private treatment.
When three of her teeth became loose earlier this year, Ms Colla decided to take the plunge and extracted a total of two molars and one canine tooth herself in a ‘very painful’ DIY procedure.
The daring extractor recounted how the pain from loose teeth was impacting her ability to eat and that they were only getting ‘looser and looser’.
She explained: ‘I didn’t have any other option.
‘When I moved down here to the southwest, that’s when the problems started.
‘I started looking for an NHS dentist, and couldn’t find one, so I phoned the NHS and they put me on the list.
‘I’ve been here since April 2018, and I started looking for a dentist in June or July that year – and I’ve still not got one.
‘Three teeth started to work loose, and it was not very comfortable. It was painful to eat, so I had to pull them out.
‘They were getting looser and looser, so one at a time, I took them out.
‘It was two back teeth and a canine, and they had quite long roots. It was very painful – but I’ve apparently got a high pain tolerance.’
Ms Colla then had to fork out £300 for work on her dental plate to be able to eat again.
She says she would happily travel over 20 miles to see a dentist but has still had no luck.
Ms Colla hopes to find a dentist to maintain her dentures – as she says a new set would cost about £1500 if she saw a private dentist.
Now, she is sharing her story to boost awareness of the dental situation she believes is facing the south-west of England.
‘I’ve been round local dentists, who have told me they can only take a certain amount of NHS patients due to funding, and they can’t take any more,’ she said.
‘The southwest is in dire straits.
‘The NHS contacted me a couple of times and asked if I still want to be on the waiting list, and I said of course.
‘Six years later, as far as I know, I’m still on it.’
The fact that there are so few NHS dental practices is disgraceful, and those who cannot afford it should be supported by our government.
Great Britain has fallen. In all my years, I have never seen such much tragedy and destruction in our nation, where locals are ignored and foreigners are given preference. Where infrastructure fails and money takes precedence. Where politicians rarely exhibit honesty and ethics these days. In fifty years, the majority will be the minority, and our government won’t be concerned about the safety, security, or future of our children.
Unfortunately, it was the Conservative way, and during all those years of Tory government NHS dentistry was intentionally neglected and underfunded so that we would all be forced to go private. The Tory ideology is clear, if you can’t afford to go private for your dental treatment, then it’s just tough!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 