More than a quarter of older Brits fear missing NHS appointments will force them to turn to do-it-yourself dentistry.
From pulling their own teeth with household tools to making homemade false teeth with superglue and resin, a growing number seem to be taking their dental health into their own hands.
The trend is at least partly due to a shortage of NHS dentists, which is turning some parts of the country into dental deserts and giving Britons a choice of paying privately, forgoing or resorting to DIY.
Now a survey shows that one in four people over 65 will do their own dental work, including tooth extraction. The country’s top dance star said this was the result of the “broken” and “underfunded” industry.
A total of 41 per cent of Britons said they would be willing to do self-dentistry if they needed dental work but were unable to do so due to a lack of NHS appointments. Rates were highest among younger Britons (48 percent) compared to 28 percent among seniors
London recorded the lowest percentage of adults visiting an NHS dentist in two years. The North East and Yorkshire recorded the highest rate at 41.8 per cent
There are increasing reports of Britons turning to do-it-yourself dentistry because they struggle to see an NHS dentist and cannot afford to pay private charges
The number of adults visiting a dentist in England over a two-year period has fallen sharply compared to before the pandemic. Just a third did so, according to the latest NHS data
Millions of people have no access to dental care after the number of NHS dentists fell to an all-time low in the past year
Overall, 41 per cent of Britons said they would be willing to do self-dentistry if they needed dental work but were unable to do so due to a lack of NHS appointments.
Rates were highest among younger people, with 48 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds willing to undergo the treatment themselves
It was followed by 46 per cent of 35 to 54-year-olds, according to a poll of just over 2,000 people commissioned by the Liberal Democrats.
Older Britons aged 65 and over were the least likely to take matters into their own hands (28 per cent).
Across all groups, seven out of ten participants feared being forced to seek private treatment for dental treatment.
And parents with children under 18 said they are “likely” to turn to do-it-yourself dentistry if they need medical care.
NHS dentistry has been in crisis for years, but the situation has worsened since the country emerged from the pandemic.
Thousands of NHS dentists quit during Covid and industry surveys suggest even more dentists are considering going fully private.
Dentists claim it is no longer financially viable to offer NHS procedures due to a lack of government investment over the years.
The British Dental Association (BDA) says more than 47 million NHS dental appointments have been lost in England alone since the 2020 lockdown.
Commenting on the poll, Eddie Crouch, chairman of the BDA, told The Telegraph: “Do-it-yourself dentistry has no place in a prosperous 21st century country. Unfortunately, the decisions made at Westminster have left millions of people without options.
“Demoralized dentists run from a broken, underfunded system.”
Mr Crouch said a promise by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to restore dental services to the NHS, made during the Tory leadership race earlier this year, had fallen through.
He added: “This slogan will ring hollow as long as desperate people reach for the tongs.”
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper claimed the poll’s results were “a national scandal”.
While the number of children in England visiting a dentist has recovered somewhat since the Covid pandemic, less than half visit the dentist at least once a year
Access to NHS dentistry is much worse in some regions of England than in others. It is poorest in the North West, South West and Yorkshire and Humber, where 98 per cent of practices are willing to take on new patients. This is followed by the East Midlands with 97 per cent, the South East with 95 per cent, the East of England with 93 per cent and the West Midlands with 84 per cent. London fared best in NHS dental cover, but even in the nation’s capital more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of practices were not accepting new patients
“It now feels like NHS dentistry is dying out in many parts of the country,” she said.
“Hard-working people pay their fair share to fund our precious NHS, but the government has failed to allocate resources.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the government wanted to ensure that all people seeking dental care through the NHS could get it when they needed it and had recently introduced dental reforms to make this possible.
It comes after a survey in September found that a quarter of Britons were unable to get a dental appointment on the NHS, with the worst rates in London.
Of the total group unable to get an appointment, one fifth resorted to do-it-yourself dentistry.
Almost one in three have given up NHS dental care altogether.
The latest NHS data shows two thirds of people in England have not seen a dentist in two years.
Between June 2020 – in the early days of the pandemic – and June 2022, only 16 million people were checked. This is five million less than expected.
And less than half of England’s children have had a check-up in the year to June 2022, despite being entitled to free dental treatment under the age of 18.
Adults must pay a minimum of £23.80 for a single cheque.
The data also shows that the NHS now has its smallest dental workforce in a decade, with 3,000 dentists walking away from NHS work entirely since March 2020 and those remaining with a caseload of 2,000 patients each.
And more could jump in with a BDA, a survey of 2,200 well-known dentists in England earlier this year found a third plan to go fully private within the next year.
Some Britons have reported calling up to 40 practices to find an NHS dentist in their area who is taking new patients.
The situation has prompted patient organizations such as Healthwatch England to warn that do-it-yourself dentistry is becoming more common, with some people having their own teeth pulled with pliers and then replaced with resin and superglue.
Other Brits have chosen to fly abroad for dental treatment, where they are willing to pay much cheaper rates than private dentists in the UK.
In other dental news…
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The TikTok Health Trend You MUST Do! Tongue scraping helps prevent gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath, dentists say
Transport for London faces backlash over ‘turkey teeth’ ads: Dentists attack ‘predatory’ marketing on Tubes and buses
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
