A determined mother-of-two has pulled her personal enamel out 3 times after failing to get a dentist appointment on the NHS.
Despite contacting each NHS dentist inside 70 miles of her house, Layla Waters, 52, has been unable to safe a face-to-face appoint at any time up to now two years.
After her first contaminated tooth prompted her ache in March 2020, she resorted to determined measures when it grew unfastened and the ache grew to become insufferable.
Layla wrapped a chunk of kitchen towel across the affected tooth, then yanked it out herself.
But simply two months later, she was pressured to do the identical once more when a second tooth grew to become contaminated.
She accomplished the dubuous hat-trick in February this yr when a 3rd contaminated tooth needed to come out.
Layla mentioned: “Every time I phoned to try to book an appointment, because of lockdown and the shortage of dentists, I could never get in.
“They kept sending me prescriptions for antibiotics and I must have have around ten prescriptions over the last couple of years to try to get the infections under control.
“In the end, it was so bad that I decided I had to do something.
“I used kitchen roll to grab the tooth, so it wouldn’t slip, and pulled.
“It took two or three attempts, but it came out. I couldn’t get out of bed for a couple of days – I was curled up in a ball crying.”
( David Lowndes / Peterborough Te SWNS)
Just 5 weeks later, Layla pulled out one other contaminated tooth and extra just lately, eliminated a 3rd tooth six months in the past.
She now solely has one again molar left on the left facet of her mouth and simply two on the best.
Layla, of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, described the scenario as ‘a nightmare from start to finish’ and says it has affected her confidence ‘massively’.
She mentioned: “Eating is becoming a massive issue.
“It has affected my confidence massively – I don’t go out or socialise because the moment I open my mouth it’s obvious I’ve got missing teeth.
“I get through a pack of painkillers every two days. I suffer from toothache, and all of my teeth are lose now.
“I’ve called 49 dentists in total now. The best response I’ve had is that I could be put on the waiting list, but it was 18 months long.
“I’ve been going round and round in circles and keep being met by a brick wall.
“We need more NHS dentists – I just want to get my teeth sorted.”
Layla, who claims Universal Credit as she will be able to not work because of Fibromyalgia, has continued to hunt an NHS dentist as she can’t afford the price of personal dental care.
But in response to the NHS web site, there are at present no NHS dental practices in Peterborough taking over new grownup sufferers.
It comes after an investigation by the BBC revealed that 9 in 10 NHS dentists throughout the UK usually are not accepting new grownup sufferers for therapy beneath the well being service.
The investigation, which contacted virtually 7,000 dental practices, discovered that in a single third of the UK’s greater than 200 council areas, no dentists have been taking over grownup NHS sufferers.
Layla added: “It’s just so sad in this day and age that people have to resort to this.
“I always managed to get my prescriptions when I needed it, that was never an issue.
“The problem was getting a face-to-face appointment with a dentist.
“It’s not their fault so I don’t want to bash the dentists.
“I don’t understand the politics of it and I won’t pretend I do, but whoever is in charge of making incentives to become an NHS dentist needs to take a look at it.
“There never used to be a shortage, I don’t know what’s causing the shortage, but all of a sudden there is a shortage of dentists.”
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk
