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10:13 29.11.2025 •
DIY dentistry has received increased airplay in the media lately
Photo: dentalasanything.com
From a mother, 42, who pulled out 13 of her own teeth after waiting six years for check-up to a 28-year-old who fished out shards of shattered molar with pliers.
Mother-of-two Danielle Watts from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, pulled out more than a dozen of her own teeth.
Carlton Hill from Swansea, Wales, had to rip out parts of his back molar with pliers after the crown shattered.
Desperate patients have been forced to take matters into their own hands amid National Health Service (NHS) dental crisis that has seen millions of Britons left without a dentist, including one who pulled out 13 of her own teeth out, ‘The Daily Mail’ reveals.
Health watchdogs today said dangerous DIY dentistry was becoming increasingly common as workforce numbers shrink to their lowest level ever after dentists quit in droves during the pandemic.
Danielle Watts, 42, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, became so desperate after waiting six years to be registered with a dentist that she pulled almost half of her teeth out with her fingers.
The mother-of-two had been suffering severe gum disease for many of those years. She squeezed her teeth out after they 'started dying off one by one' last year because none of the dental practices in her four neighbouring towns were taking on new patients.
New figures revealed that 90 per cent of dental practices across the UK are no longer taking on new patients because of dwindling staff numbers and increased demand, leaving an estimated 4million people in England without one.
Carlton Hill, 28, from Swansea, Wales, had to rip out parts of his back molar with pliers in 2020 after a crown shattered, leaving just an exposed root behind. He couldn't get an appointment because of pandemic delays.
Others have found it cheaper to fly to the Czech Republic for basic dental cleaning rather than have to pay for private work in the UK.
The national director of Healthwatch England today revealed it was no longer 'unusual' to hear stories of patients taking matters into their own hands.
It cited one example of a patient who made their own artificial teeth using resin and superglued them to their gums.
Danielle Watts, 42, was forced to remove 11 of her teeth following excruciating gum disease after her dental practice closed in 2015 – but she struggled to find another to take her on.
Ms Watts was taking painkillers daily due to the 'constant pain' and despite looking for a new NHS dental practice for six years, she was forced to pull out her own teeth.
The dental crisis is particularly bad in Suffolk, where Ms Watts lives. She tried to find another dentist who was willing to take on her and her two children Oscar, 12, and Eliza, eight, after her NHS practice suddenly closed down in 2015.
Despite her desperate calls to dentists over the years, she said none were willing to take on new NHS patients and she was forced to undertake the dental treatment herself.
In Wales, Mr Hill, who lives in Gorseinon, Swansea, was left unable to have a chipped molar fixed by a dentist because of the Covid pandemic in 2020.
He had the molar temporarily fixed and was told to get full surgery at a later date, but could not find one anywhere in Swansea county.
Mr Hill told Metro at the time: 'Within a couple of months, the crown of that molar shattered completely, leaving just the root behind.
'I had to rip bits of tooth off my gums using pliers, but the nerves died off after that so the pain wasn't too bad.
'When I called NHS direct again seeking urgent help, I was told that the pain wasn't severe enough for a referral to an emergency dentist, because all they could do for me was ease the pain rather than extract the roots.'
He has since had to drain pus out of abscesses in his gums and even used a wireless tool to shave down another molar that cracked, leaving a sharp jagged edge that was cutting his tongue.
Some regions in England are far worse than others for access to NHS dentistry. It is poorest in the North West, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber where 98 per cent of practices won' accept new patients.
This was 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 was the best performer for NHS dental care, but even in the nation's capital over three quarters (76 per cent) of practices were not accepting new patients
Millions of people have been left without access to dental care after the number of NHS dentists fell to their lowest level ever last year
Meanwhile, people in Lincolnshire, one of the worst affected regions in England, have complained of 'nine-year waiting lists' and '242-mile round trips' because 'it's still cheaper than going private'.
The survey of nearly 7,000 NHS dental practices across the UK found 91 per cent are unable to adult accept adult patients.
The poll, by the British Dental Association (BDA) and BBC, found around eight in 10 practices were not accepting child patients.
Healthwatch England's national director Louise Ansari told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the situation was 'dire'.
'So many people can't get an NHS dentist appointment, they're in pain, they're anxious, some people can't eat or speak properly,' she said.
'And suddenly, indeed, it's not unusual for us to hear stories of DIY dentistry, things like making teeth out of resin and sticking them in to their gums with superglue, which is an absolute desperate situation for somebody to be in.'
Of the NHS practices not taking on patients in the UK, about one in six (17 per cent) said their waiting lists to become a patient were at least a year or more.
Patients at one practice in Cornwall have been told they face five-year waits.
The BDA's general dental practice committee chairman, Shawn Charlwood, said: 'NHS dentistry is at a tipping point, with millions unable to get the care they need and more dentists leaving with every day that passes,' he said.
Patients across the UK are struggling to access NHS dentistry with 93 per cent of practices in Wales, 91 per cent in England, 90 per cent in Northern Ireland and 82 per cent in Scotland not accepting new adult patients.
The BDA previously said some 3,000 dentists have moved away from NHS work entirely since March 2020.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the Government was already acting to support NHS dentistry.
'The NHS commits around £3 billion to dentistry each year and have made an extra £50 million to help bust the Covid backlogs, building on the unprecedented £1.7 billion support we provided during the pandemic, to protect teams and patients by paying dental practices for the work they would normally have carried out if it were not for Covid regulations,' they said.
NHS dentistry has been in crisis for many years. Many dental surgeries say it is no longer financially viable to offer NHS procedures, leading to an 'exodus' of dentists into the private sector.
It's not uncommon for Britons to have to call up to 40 practices to find an NHS dentist in their area taking on new patients.
George Glinos at home in Childwall with the teeth he extracted himself
Photo: Liverpool ECHO
George Glinos, from Childwall, has been carrying out his own dental procedures on teeth which have become loose for around four years after saying he has been unable to get treatment on the NHS. In total the 67-year-old said he has pulled out 11 of his own teeth, which he keeps in a jar.
George claims he rings on the first day of every month to try and get an NHS dentist, however said "nobody is interested" in taking on new patients.
George said he has had emergency appointments but they are unable to provide the level of dental care he needs. The 67-year-old said he cannot afford private dental care.
Speaking to the ECHO, George said: "I haven't had a National Health dentist for probably four, maybe five years, not for the want of trying. Every time I try, nobody is interested in taking new people on.
"I ring up the first day of every month, usually on all the National Health dentist lists and nobody is interested. Nobody takes your name down or anything.
"In the four years or so where I have not had a dentist, I have had to extract my own teeth. I have a little jar here and there are 11 teeth in it and they are all the teeth I have extracted myself over the four years.
"I just can't get anyone to look at my teeth."
George said this is impacting his "whole personal life", physical and mental health. He told the ECHO: "I have one tooth left on my bottom jaw which I can use to bite things with and basically that is my life now. I have trouble eating, I have trouble digesting food, I get pains in my stomach.
"I just can't seem to get a dentist anywhere and I certainly don't have the money for private."
Michael Hodge, of Liverpool, said: “I had to pull out one of my wisdom teeth with a pair of sterilised pliers.” Elizabeth Johnson-Idan, of Frome, Somerset, said: “I can’t get an NHS dentist, I can’t afford to go private. I’m living on painkillers and fear.” Brian Mascall, from Totnes, Devon, said: “It takes a round trip of about 200 miles to reach our dentist. I have advanced prostate cancer.”
Alison Curley, from Sunderland, said: “I’ve lost my confidence, my smile and faith in the system. My health has suffered with weight loss due to not being able to eat properly.”
Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dentistry Association, said: “Choices made in Westminster have left people across the country taking matters into their own hands. Ministers need to pull dentistry back from the dark ages.”
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