A man has been left “insulted and upset” after being refused dental treatment because he was “too fat for the chair”. David Bottomley, from Penderyn in Wales, was “gobsmacked” after turning up at Dental Lounge in Glynneath on Friday, May 5, and being told that he couldn't be seen due to his weight.
David, who weighs 22 stone, was a regular patient for a decade at the practice. He claims that he has now been told never to return due to the way he spoke to staff in retaliation for the remarks.
The 65-year-old retired pub landlord says that the incident should have been dealt with better, he told Wales Online: "In 2023 a dentist can't cater for people who are overweight. It took me two hours to get to the dentist because I have to get two buses from Penderyn to Glynneath.
"I sat down after getting there and began filling in an app about myself. About five minutes later while I was still filling it out she called me over and said: ‘Unfortunately sir you’re too big and our chairs will not be able to cope with your weight.’
“I found it insulting. I did become angry and I did raise my voice, but I wasn’t abusive and I didn’t swear, but the dentist came out and told me I needed to leave and I’d be struck off the list. I thought: ‘Who do they think they are? Telling me I’m too fat and then removing me from their list.’
"I did say I was angry, it was a shock to the system to be told something like that. Is it my problem that their chairs don’t work? I’ve been waiting for the appointment for a while because I had a problem with my two crowns. My crowns fell out after I’d been eating a pear."
“I wish I’d have been told much earlier. It’s not like they didn’t know me. I’ve been this weight for 15 or 20 years and I’ve been going to the same dentist for ten years. Yes I am slightly overweight and I have a heart condition, but surely all clientele deserve dental treatment.
As well as feeling upset by what has happened David said he had become stressed by being removed from the practice list. “I know it takes a long time to get back onto a list after you’ve been removed and I am worried about that,” he said. “I need urgent dental care. I wasn’t rude to anyone and I really feel unfairly treated and sad by what has happened.”
A spokesman for Glynneath Dental Lounge said: "While we cannot comment on Mr Bottomley's case in detail, we can offer assurances that we acted in line with agreed health and safety guidance. Chairs used to treat patients have weight limits, which means it would be unsafe to use them to provide dental care to any patient who is over this limit."
A spokeswoman for the British Dental Association said: "Dental professionals are right to be concerned about the health and safety aspects of treating obese patients, as they have both a duty of care to all patients and a legal obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to operate in a safe environment.
"It is important that patients understand they may have to be referred for their own safety. It may be difficult to move a patient in a medical emergency or get them out the building quickly safely should there be an emergency."
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