Healthwatch England calls for dentistry service improvements after Portsmouth dad pulls out own teeth

A new report by Healthwatch England has laid bare the stark consequences of people being unable to access dental services during the last nine months including people with ill-fitting dentures or broken fillings who developed ulcers, bleeding gums and infections, young adults unable to get braces and

The report also detailed two cases of people pulling out their own teeth – one from Derbyshire whose son had learning disabilities and another in Portsmouth, dad-of-three Chris Savage pulled out a tooth with pliers after drinking eight pints of Stella Artois at home in Milton, which The News reported on in October.

The 42-year-old, who was not signed up to a dentist, felt forced to pull out his own teeth after being told he would have to go private and pay £100 per tooth.

He said: ‘If other people are in the same position, it’s horrible. I really feel for them but something has got to change.’

Healthwatch England said it had received an ‘unprecedented’ 452 per cent rise 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.

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.

SEE ALSO: Early detection of mouth cancer an 'unacceptable lottery' amid dentistry cuts, critics claim

‘If we don’t improve access to NHS dental care, not only do people risk facing far greater dental problems in the future but it also puts pressure on overstretched hospitals and GPs.’

It comes after The News revealed that more than 77,000 people turned up at hospital and minor injury services across the country in 2019/20 with dental problems.

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust was among the trusts unable to provide full details for the year. However, in the last quarter – between January 1 and March 31, 212 people turned up to A&E with dental problems, costing the NHS £35,616.

The News launched the campaign A Kick in the Teeth in 2019 after dental firm Colosseum pulled out of the city, leaving 20,000 people looking for a new dentist. At the moment a new practice is due to open next yea and another NHS contract has been awarded to a surgery in Cosham.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as our new Puzzles section.