Family launch petition after 'agony' waiting for dentist appointment

Josh Keeling launched the petition after his partner Olivia Morely went through "agonising pain" waiting for a dentist

A man has launched a petition calling for more NHS dentists after his partner suffered "agonising pain".

Josh Keeling believes dentists are in "the bleakest situation" after he was unable to find an emergency dentist within 60 miles of his home in Dorset.

He ended up using money from family and savings to help his partner pay for a root canal and fillings privately.

Phil Gowers, from the British Dental Association, said dentists were facing a "disastrous" situation.

It comes after a BBC investigation revealed nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK were not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service.

The Department of Health previously said it had made an extra £50m available "to help bust the Covid backlogs", and added improving NHS access was a priority.

Mr Keeling's online petition has more than 270,500 signatures so far.

The 28-year-old said he felt compelled to start the petition after his partner, Olivia Morely, was in so much pain with her tooth that she begged him to "get the pliers and rip it out".

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Mr Keeling, from Gillingham, said: "She'd been to an NHS dentist just before the pandemic and he'd drilled the wrong tooth, when we moved she was told it would be an 18-month wait for a new NHS dentist to fix it.

"I just remember Olivia in absolute agony, more pain than she'd ever been in. I called all the local dentists and they said they weren't taking any patients and to call 111."

The couple, who have a three-year-old son called Theo, said they scraped together savings for emergency dental work

Miss Morley, 28, added: "Every avenue we went down I just kept getting turned away.

"I couldn't eat, sleep, talk, it was overwhelming. To think I could have had the pain for 18 months, it would have been hell."

In the end, Miss Morely paid £600 for an emergency root canal and fillings.

"Since setting up the petition I've been contacted by so many people in similar or even worse situations," Mr Keeling added.

"The NHS and government need to do something to fix this problem."

Phil Gowers, from the British Dental Association, said it was a "disastrous" situation for dentists at the moment

Mr Gowers explained NHS dentists have a contract that is capped at a certain number of patients.

"Once they've reached that number, if they see any more they're essentially doing it for free," he said.

"It's terrible for the dentists because they don't get paid any more money for it, so it really is disastrous."

An NHS spokesperson said: "The NHS recently announced the first dentistry reforms since 2006 which will support practices to improve access."

They added discussions were "ongoing" around further changes to help benefit patients and staff.