Patients 'turn to DIY dental treatment'

Dental patients have resorted to DIY extractions and using improvised methods to fill teeth because of falling numbers of NHS dentists.

In the biggest patient survey of its kind, 19 per cent of respondents revealed they had missed out on dental work because of cost.

It follows new contracts brought in last year which many of the 750 dentists surveyed say has made the quality of care worse.

As many as 84 per cent of dentists believe the changes have failed to make it easier for patients to get an appointment, while 45 per cent said their surgery is no longer taking NHS patients.

As many as 6 per cent of the 5,212 patients in England surveyed had resorted to treating themselves because they could not find a dentist.

Some had removed their own teeth or used superglue to fix broken crowns. In Lancashire, one person admitted carrying out 14 separate extractions with pliers.

The stark findings came in research carried out by the members of England's Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forums - special feedback bodies covering every NHS trust in the country.

Of those polled, 78 per cent said they were there either because their dentist had stopped taking NHS patients or that they could not find an NHS clinic, with only 15 per cent saying it was for better treatment.

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

"It appears many are being forced to go private because they don't want to lose their current trusted and respected dentist or because they just can't find a local NHS dentist.

"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."

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