Man in ‘unbearable’ pain removed six of his own teeth

Nathan White was suffering severe dental pain for around four years before he resorted to ‘wiggling out’ his own teeth.

The 49-year-old said an infection in his mouth had become so severe that the swelling began to close one of his eyes shut.

“I tried mouthwash and to get what I could from the pharmacy, but I just lost hope,” said Nathan.

Following a national dental crisis, Dorset residents are being forced to travel 20 to 30 miles for NHS appointments or pay private fees.

After being told a practice in Southampton was accepting new NHS appointments, Nathan said he was ‘so excited’ and jumped on a train.

When he got there the practice was already full and he was unable to be seen.

Nathan, who was previously a gardener, said he was left unable to work because of the pain and found it difficult to leave his house.

“When you’re in so much pain you do not want to go through the day, and especially with a physical job.”

After his failed trip to Southampton, Nathan said he knew he was going to have to ‘wiggle’ all six teeth out himself.

Living in a rural part of New Milton, Nathan said finding an NHS appointment was a ‘lost cause’, and that he could ‘never even consider’ the cost of private treatment.

“It’s the same for everyone else around me,” said Nathan.

“My main priorities are bills and food and I’m not going to borrow money off of friends and family in the same situation.”

He added: “I have worked and paid tax all my life and there seems to be no hope for the NHS anymore.”

Nathan said government funding for mobile dentists could help the situation but that a lot of people have already suffered.

He believes that NHS dentists should offer payment plans, similar to private practices, to make treatment more accessible to patients in the cost-of-living crisis.

Nathan is now selling his artwork full-time and said once he has saved enough money the first thing he will pay for is to fix his teeth privately.

Kate Calvert, acting chief commissioning officer with NHS Dorset, said: “We absolutely recognise that NHS dentistry needs to improve.

"Services have been under pressure for some time despite teams working hard to meet the rising demand, and whilst we have seen some improvements in access, more needs to be done to ensure that everyone who needs to see a dentist can do so. 

“The NHS recently published a joint plan with the Department of Health and Social Care to recover NHS dental care which focuses on key areas including increasing workforce numbers, prevention and making services more accessible.  

“Over the coming months we will be working with partners including local dental leaders to understand what this means for Dorset and will publish updates on our website when they are available.”