DIY dentistry makes a comeback

People are resorting to DIY tooth extraction because practices remain closed, the head of the British Dental Association has said. All routine dental appointments were cancelled on March 25 to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Patients in need of urgent care can be referred for treatment at emergency NHS hubs. The hubs have drawn criticism because of the restrictive criteria for what counts as an emergency that have left many patients in pain unable to access care. An inability to cope with the caseload and a lack of personal protective equipment had led to a rise in the number of unnecessary extractions on restorable teeth, Mick Armstrong, chairman of the British Dental Association, said. The organisation is also seeing cases of people performing DIY procedures at home. Billy Taylor, 33, from Axminster, Devon, decided to take out his own tooth after being told by NHS 111 that he could not have an emergency appointment. The tooth had caused one side of his face to swell up ‘‘like elephant man’’, he said. Enlisting the help of his 11-yearold son Leo and a swig of whisky, he performed a DIY extraction on a molar last month. Fay Rayward attempted to pull her own tooth out using pliers after being denied an emergency appointment. Rayward, of Telford, Shropshire, eventually had the tooth removed at an urgent care hub after her attempt made things worse. Armstrong said: ‘‘Patients in pain have few options. An urgent care system has been plagued by teething problems, while desperate people resort to DIY extractions that belonged in the Victorian era. We still don’t know when practices can reopen, or how many patients we will be capable of treating. A service that tens of millions depend on is in need of government help if it’s going to survive this pandemic and the ‘new normal’.’’