Patients are pulling out their own TEETH at home because they cannot afford a dentist, report finds 

Patients have been forced to pull out 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 it found evidence of pain and distress that is ‘totally unacceptable in the 21st century’.

The document cites a YouGov poll of 2,104 people across the UK conducted in March 2023.

Ten per cent admitted to attempting ‘DIY dentistry’. More than half (56 per cent) of the group carried it out in the last year and 20 per cent said they did so because they could not find an NHS dentist. The poll also found 22 per cent of Britons were not registered with a dentist, with 23 per cent of whom saying it was because they could not afford treatment.

The committee saw written evidence from more than 30 Healthwatch groups, with case studies provided by Healthwatch Lincolnshire revealing how people had pulled problem teeth out with pliers, or had to make a five-hour round trip to see an NHS dentist.

A round-table hosted by the committee last month also heard accounts of patients feeling isolated due to worsening oral health. The report said there is a ‘significant regional variation’ in access to NHS dentistry. The worst affected were those from deprived areas, ethnic minorities, the homeless and those with complex needs such as autism.

It also claims freedom of information requests revealed the primary dental care underspend for 2022/23 was forecast to reach £400million.

Steve Brine, chairman of the committee, said: ‘To hear of someone in such pain and distress that they resorted to using pliers to extract their teeth demonstrates the crisis in NHS dental services.

‘The problem is compounded by people being unaware of what they’re entitled to and a contract that is unfit for purpose when it comes to paying dentists for treating NHS patients.’ The committee is calling on the Government to ensure every person who needs an NHS dentist is able to access one a ‘reasonable distance’ from their home and in a ‘reasonable time frame’.

It is also calling for a dental workforce survey to be commissioned, as well as the roll-out of a patient information campaign to boost awareness of how NHS dentistry works.

Mr Brine added: ‘What’s particularly frustrating is that recommendations made by our predecessor committee 15 years ago to reform the dental contract have still not been implemented.

‘Yet contract reform alone is unlikely to 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 everyone who needs an NHS dentist can access one. Belatedly, now is the time to deliver it.’ Shawn Charlwood of the British Dental Association called the report ‘an instruction manual to save NHS dentistry’.

He added: ‘The real question now is whether government or opposition are ready to use it. Failure to act will condemn this service to oblivion.’