County Durham MP’s mum ‘pulled out teeth’ as she couldn’t get dentist appointment
A County Durham MP has told the House of Commons that his 87-year-old mum tried to pull her own teeth out with pliers “out of desperation” as she was unable to get an NHS[1] dental appointment. Grahame Morris, Labour MP for Easington, told the Commons that according to the NHS ‘Find a Dentist website’ there were no dentists accepting adult patients within a ten-mile radius of his constituency. Mr Morris was speaking as the Government was urged to grasp the crisis in access to NHS dental care across England.
The Labour-led Commons debate saw several MPs airing their concerns about constituents having to seek private care and carry out DIY dentistry. Another Labour MP, Ashley Dalton, for West Lancashire, told the Commons: “It’s easier to get your hands on Taylor Swift tickets in 2024, than it is to get an NHS dental appointment.” Easington MP Morris cited data from NHS Digital which showed that 44% of children have not received an annual check-up with an NHS dentist and that not a single dentist was accepting children aged 17 or under in his constituency.
He added that dentists were accepting children in neighbouring constituencies of Wheatley Hill, Easington Lane and Houghton-le-Spring; but his own constituents dependent on public transport: “will find accessing these services almost impossible due to the appalling state and unreliability of our bus services.” Mr Morris said: “There are some scary statistics. One in 10 people have attempted their own dental work, with Healthwatch, the patients’ voice, reporting patients pulling their own teeth out with pliers.
“That might seem ridiculous but my mother is 87 and very frail, and she did this out of desperation. It is appalling.” Mr Morris added: “It is time for the Government to get control of this problem and to deliver for the British public, who are being let down time and again by the dysfunction at the heart of the Conservative party.”
Former Conservative health minister Steve Brine told the Commons there could be no further delay to the Government’s dental recovery plan. Now chairing the Commons Health Select Committee, he urged ministers to come forward with a promised plan aimed at helping dentistry recover from the pandemic. Mr Brine said: “There is still no date for the publication of (the) dental recovery plan – to my committee’s continued frustration, it has to be said.
If we don’t solve this crisis, then we are going to continue to hear about this in the House and we are going to continue to hear about it from constituents. “It also places additional pressures on already-stretched NHS services. So, today is too late for some dentists thinking of leaving, and for some patients who have run out of options.
“We have a short-term set of actions to help our constituents suffering real pain today, and obviously we need that fully reformed dental recovery plan hot on its heels, there can’t be any further delay.” A Labour[2] motion signed by Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, has urged the Government to provide an extra 700,000 urgent dental appointment a year, create incentives to recruit dentists into underserved areas, and create a supervised toothbrushing scene for school children. It was rejected with MPs voting against it 299 to 191, a majority of 108.
The British Dental Association is unhappy with the lack of action from ministers. Eddie Crouch, its chairman, said: “Today, when we needed clarity, the Government provided a full gamut of platitudes and half-truths. “Ministers keep saying they want an NHS dentist for everyone.
There is still no evidence of any plan to make that happen.”