Desperate Britons suffering with toothaches were forced to pull their own teeth out with pliers during

Desperate Britons suffering with toothaches were forced to pull their own teeth out with pliers during lockdown after struggling to access dental care. 

A report by Healthwatch England has revealed the watchdog received an ‘unprecedented’ rise in calls and complaints about dentistry.

Its new report on dentistry sets out the serious consequences of people not being able to access care.

In one case a Derbyshire parent called the watchdog after their son, who has learning disabilities, pulled out their own teeth as they couldn’t access a dentist. 

In Portsmouth, Chris Savage, 42, downed eight pints of Stella Artois before yanking two of his teeth out in his bedroom, as he couldn’t register with a dentist. 

Authors of Healthwatch England’s report wrote: ‘People who struggled to access dental treatments during the pandemic often experienced inconvenience, anxiety, worsening problems requiring further treatment, or worse.

‘Some people were left in debilitating pain, while others feared that they would lose their teeth when they couldn’t access care.’

The authors wrote: 신촌 치과 ‘We have heard a few extreme cases when lack of access to dentistry pushed people to take steps which put their health and wellbeing at risk. 

‘In another case, Healthwatch Portsmouth heard about a person who used pliers at home to remove their own teeth.’

Mr Savage, 신촌역 치과 a labourer from Southsea in Portsmouth, Hampshire, said it was ‘the most horrible thing I’ve ever done,’ but added that it was ‘worth the risk of infection’. 

Others resorted to similar measures, including Debroy Parrington, from Warrington, who pulled out his teeth after puncturing a lump in his gum after developing an infection. 

He told the : ‘I had a lump on the side of the tooth, on the gum, so I heated a hat pin up on the stove and I punctured it.

Some gunge came out and it did ease the throbbing. Needs must. 

Billy Taylor, from Devon, also pulled out a tooth with a pair of pliers, after suffering ‘excruciating’ pain.

DIY dentist Paul Cutting from Canvey Island, Essex, pulled out his wife’s molar after she downed a couple of rum and cokes to numb the pain.

He told The Sun: ‘I was quite shocked it came out with one yank — it was like a brazil nut.

Her face was swollen but it went down after a couple of hours.’ 

Fay Edwards told ITV’s This Morning how she unsuccessfully tried to remove a tooth earlier this year: ‘It was desperate measures. I was crying and didn’t know what to do. 

‘I started with tweezers tying to loosen the tooth.

I got my husband’s pliers and tried to remove it myself. I just wanted it out.’ 

Healthwatch England also set out how a child needed extractions ‘due to delays in treatment’.

‘In one case, a child who needed specialist treatment before lockdown ended up having extractions due to delays in treatment,’ the report states.

Some people’s dental problems were so bad they ‘struggled’ to eat and speak, the report adds.

Dentists have struggled to return to pre-Covid levels of care with new requirements for personal protective equipment, social distancing and requirements after performing so-called ‘aerosol generating procedures’.

Healthwatch England said that it saw a 452% increase in calls and complaints about dentistry over the summer.

It has called for more to be done to understand the long-term impact on people’s dental health caused by the delays to care that have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And it has called on the Government and NHS to address the problem.

Sir Robert Francis QC, chairman of Healthwatch England, said: ‘Even before the pandemic, people were telling us about problems in accessing NHS dental appointments but since the start of the summer these reports have hugely increased.