A couple from West Yorkshire say they have resorted to pulling out their own teeth because no NHS dentist will treat them. Rebecca Brearey and Nick Oldroyd, from Dewsbury, have been trying for four years to register with a local NHS dentist but have been repeatedly turned away.
Ms Brearey said she had ripped out her own half-rotten teeth after taking paracetamol and alcohol. 'The state of my teeth has made me depressed and I've literally begged to be taken on by an NHS dentist, but every time I've been turned away,' she said. Mr Oldroyd said he pulled out a tooth after days of agony, adding: 'I do believe if I could get some dental care I might be able to begin turning my life around.'
A BBC News analysis of more than 2,500 dental practices on the NHS Choices website found that half were not accepting new adult NHS patients, while two-fifths were not accepting new child patients. The British Dental Association (BDA) described the figures as reflecting an 'emerging crisis' in dental care in England.
NHS England said 95% of people seeking an appointment could get one, and that 39 million dental treatments were carried out last year. However, the BDA said 21 million adults and 5 million children have not recently seen an NHS dentist. Dentists who have stopped NHS work say the system is chronically underfunded, with Dr Tony Kilcoyne from Keighley stating: 'If the system is funded at about half the level that it needs to be, then we can't treat everyone.'
