Brits resort to pulling own teeth

[almaty 19]

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Some English people have resorted to pulling out their own teeth because they cannot find -- or cannot afford -- a dentist, a major study has revealed.

Six percent of those surveyed in an English study said they had resorted to dental "self-treatment."

Six percent of those questioned in a survey of 5,000 patients admitted they had resorted to self-treatment using pliers and glue, the UK's Press Association reported.

England has a two-tier dental care system with some dentists offering publicly subsidized treatment through the National Health Service and others performing more expensive private work.

But more than three-quarters of those polled said they had been forced to pay for private treatment because they had been unable to find an NHS dentist. Almost a fifth said they had refused dental treatment because of the cost.

One respondent in Lancashire, northern England, claimed to have extracted 14 of their own teeth with a pair of pliers. In Liverpool, one of those collecting data for the survey interviewed three people who had pulled out their own teeth in one morning.

"I took most of my teeth out in the shed with pliers. I have one to go," another respondent wrote.

Others said they had fixed broken crowns using glue to avoid costly dental work.

Valerie Halsworth, 64, told British television's GMTV she had removed seven of her own teeth using her husband's pliers when her toothache became unbearable and she was unable to find an NHS dentist willing to treat her.

Halsworth admitted that the first extraction had been "excruciatingly painful." But she added: "It got that painful that I just had to do something... When you have taken a tooth out... the pain has gone."

Sharon Grant, chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which commissioned the survey, said: "These findings indicate that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very badly.

"Where NHS dental services are available, people are happy with the quality of treatment provided but many find the NHS fee system confusing and expensive, with some patients taking out loans to pay for treatment or more worryingly taking matters into their own hands." E-mail to a friend

[JODO 2]

Damn, I see why the Brits are known for having a stiff upper lip.

[Amby 490]

that sucks...my mother in law bit into a pear and broke off 3 of her front teeth about a month ago. it's going to cost her 400 quid for a bridge at an NHS dentist

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There was a guy on TV a few years ago who admitted to doing his own dental work because of a morbid fear of the dentist. He would pull his own teeth with pliers, on one occasion he broke the tooth he was trying to extract and had to cut through the gum with a razorblade to remove the root. That was pretty hardcore, but strangely when he let a dentist take a look at his handiwork the guy admitted that he'd done a pretty good job.

Still I've not done it, nor known anyone who has - except for one friend who for some reason filed his teeth into points when he was 13, using a diamond file.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Number 6

[Jasman0717 9]

Damn, real Chuck Nolands

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

yet they have national dental care......

[DeadPoolX 9]

Dentist, huh? Well, then... B)

Edited October 15, 2007 by DeadPoolX

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

yet they have national dental care......

Clearly we don't. We have a combined public / private system.

[almaty 19]

wow, i am sure there is allot of adult beverages drank before one can pull a tooth...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

There was a guy on TV a few years ago who admitted to doing his own dental work because of a morbid fear of the dentist. He would pull his own teeth with pliers, on one occasion he broke the tooth he was trying to extract and had to cut through the gum with a razorblade to remove the root. That was pretty hardcore, but strangely when he let a dentist take a look at his handiwork the guy admitted that he'd done a pretty good job.

Still I've not done it, nor known anyone who has - except for one friend who for some reason filed his teeth into points when he was 13, using a diamond file.

Oh my...

[Krikit 1,164]

My friend and I were travelling to Northern Ontario for a weekend at the cottage. She had two small children so we stopped at a McDonald's midway there. At the next table was a man and his son getting ready to leave. As his son put on his coat he turned to his father and said "Dad? Can we pull out my teeth with the pliers like we did last weekend?"

My friend and I looked at each other and then she said "I am WAY too far up north."

[Caladan 19]

What's amusing me about this is that the difference between this "home dental treatment" and a dentist's office is, well, who's handling the pliers. Tooth extraction can't conceivably have changed much since Caesar crossed the Rubicon.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

What's amusing me about this is that the difference between this "home dental treatment" and a dentist's office is, well, who's handling the pliers. Tooth extraction can't conceivably have changed much since Caesar crossed the Rubicon.

Dentophobiast!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What's amusing me about this is that the difference between this "home dental treatment" and a dentist's office is, well, who's handling the pliers. Tooth extraction can't conceivably have changed much since Caesar crossed the Rubicon.

And to think - a person has to go to a hospital these days to be trepanned. How scandalous

Secretly, the Brits like to make out that the NHS is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Its all clever marketing however. We really do all of our minor surgeries at home with craft knives and box cutters, and get all our prescription medications from the vet

[derekkj 0]

What's amusing me about this is that the difference between this "home dental treatment" and a dentist's office is, well, who's handling the pliers. Tooth extraction can't conceivably have changed much since Caesar crossed the Rubicon.

No, but thankfully pain management has!

My name is KJ and I am an anti-dentite...