'Dental patients are pulling out their own teeth'

Mark Jones, co-founder of Toothless in Suffolk and Toothless in England, said he had heard of people with dental issues treating themselves using extreme methods

People in Suffolk and Norfolk are "living in real pain every day" and "pulling out their own teeth" due to being unable to secure a dental appointment, it has been claimed.

Toothless in Suffolk co-founder Mark Jones and Adrian Ramsay, leader of the Green Party and Waveney Valley MP, are highlighting the issue while calling on the government to review its NHS dental contract.

The British Dental Association says 97% of new patients cannot access NHS care.

Downing Street has said "rebuilding NHS dentistry is a priority" and there are plans to provide an extra 700,000 urgent dentistry appointments to those most in need.

Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley and co-leader of the Green Party, has urged the government to review its NHS dental contract

Speaking on the Wayne Bavin Breakfast Show, on BBC Radio Suffolk, Ramsay said "we have to tackle the root cause of the problem" as a matter of urgency.

"We know it is particularly bad in Suffolk, Norfolk and the East of England - my patients are saying all the time it is just impossible to get a dentist appointment," he added.

"But the dental contract doesn’t work and that’s why I am working to really put pressure on the government to set a timescale for this crucial change.

"This is such a pressing issue and residents in Suffolk have told me about paying huge amounts of money for treatment or going without treating and being in real pain.

"Sarah, who lives near Beccles, has got four dead teeth and is in real pain everyday while Chris, from Laxfield, took out a loan to spend £2,500 on dental treatment."

Mr Jones said the government must implement changes to NHS dental services as a matter of urgency

Mr Jones, from Felixstowe, is the co-founder of Toothless in Suffolk and Toothless in England – campaign groups calling for better dentistry services in the country.

He said he was willing to sit down with "those in power, those with skin in the game" to talk about what changes needed to be implemented to improve NHS services.

"Patients and the oral health of a nation are suffering and we really must see some urgent action but it’s almost like they are kicking it into the long grass," he said.

"We have been repeatedly told this is a government priority yet nothing of any real substance [has materialised] apart from a few words. But words are meaningless.

"People are absolutely desperate and they are pulling out their own teeth in a lot of extreme cases."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Rebuilding NHS dentistry is a priority for this government.

"We will reform the dental contract to encourage more dentists to offer NHS services to patients.

"Prevention is better than cure, so we will also introduce supervised tooth brushing for three to five-year-olds."