The horror story of a man having to extract his own teeth is a "just the start of things to come" amid worries about the accessibility of NHS dentists.
ECHO readers have raised concerns regarding the accessibility of dentists after George Glinos told the ECHO he has been carrying out his own dental procedures for four years. The 67-year-old, from Childwall, said he has pulled out 11 of his own teeth which he now keeps in a jar due to being unable to get an NHS treatment.
He said he rings on the first of every month to try and get an NHS dentist but "nobody is interested" in taking on new patients. George said he has had emergency appointments but they are unable to provide the care he needs. He added he cannot afford private dental care.
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The NHS strictly advise against self-treatment asking people in need of help to call the NHS 111 number. George said this is impacting his "whole personal life".
He told the ECHO : "I have one tooth left on my bottom jaw which I can use to bite things with and basically that is my life now. I have trouble eating, I have trouble digesting food, I get pains in my stomach. I just can't seem to get a dentist anywhere and I certainly don't have the money for private."
George added he has resorted to pulling his own teeth with pliers. He said: "It's incredibly painful, but what can you do? I have got to the stage now where I'm 11 teeth down that it's just par for the course now, well no-one else is going to do it. I have either got to sit here and stay in pain or try to reduce the time I am in pain and do it myself."
ECHO readers shared their worries about the country's ongoing issues with NHS healthcare. Jeanette Miley said: "It's due to dentists earning more money in private healthcare, the nurses will go the same way. The government needs to step in as soon as possible. We are going back to the old days before the NHS when you had to pay for all treatments and our wonderful NHS in the past."
Stephen Fellows said: "This is just the start of things to come. No cash = no treatment. It's happening with the NHS dentists right now and it's coming to a hospital near you." Gayna Walmsley shared her personal experiences as she added: "It's awful in Southport. At least a two year waiting list for any dentist and more and more of the dentists here are becoming private getting rid of NHS patients unless they go private."
Nicola Wright also said: "It doesn't surprise me. [The government] has run our NHS into the ground."
A spokesperson for the NHS in the North West said: "The NHS recently announced the first reforms to dentistry services since 2006 which will support practices to improve access including giving high performing practices the opportunity to increase their activity and treat more patients – discussions around further changes that benefit patients and staff are ongoing.
"The COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on the North West region, has inevitably led to a disruption in routine dental care with NHS dentists having to focus on providing care for those with an urgent dental need.
"It is important to note that anyone who is in dental pain or in urgent need of support, help or advice, can telephone their own dental practice in the usual way. If they don’t have a usual dentist and have an urgent need they can contact the dental helpline on 0161 476 9651 (standard local telephone charges apply)."
George said: "I just think there should be something out there, regardless of how bad the system is. There should be something there for people to get their teeth done. How can you have a viable life if you haven't got a good set of teeth? Your smile is how you greet people."
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