Man resorts to pulling teeth out with shoelace due to soaring dental costs

ITV News' Stacey Foster reports on the dental treatment price hikes that have driven some people to desperate measures

A man has admitted to resorting to a "medieval" method of pulling out his own tooth with a shoelace as the cost of dental treatment in England rises.

Charges have gone up by 8.5%, a price hike that the government claims will raise "vital funds" for NHS budgets.

But the British Dental Association (BDA) has warned that one in four people are now delaying or going without NHS dental treatment because of the rising costs.

Grant Lakey told ITV News he resorted to pulling out his own teeth with a shoelace to stop the pain and has since been to Turkey to get them fixed.

"It was a last resort, very medieval and I just had to do it because the uneasiness of having your teeth loose and the pain, then there was the infection... I had to do it myself," Mr Lakey said.

His teeth were fixed by Dentakay, in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the price hike now in force across England will mean the cost of a band 1 treatment such as a check-up will increase from £23.80 to £25.80, while a band 2 procedure, such as a filling, will increase from £65.20 to £70.70.

A band 3 treatment, such as getting dentures, will increase from £282.80 to £306.80.

A new poll by YouGov for the BDA, surveying 1,723 adults in England, found 23% report delaying or going without NHS dental treatment for cost reasons.

Dr Amandeep Singh, a dentist at a practice in Birmingham,told ITV News: "Prior to the price increase - and we're just talking earlier this year - my patients say, 'I can't afford to save a tooth, you need to take it out'."

The BDA said it was concerned patients are not seeking the help they need because they cannot afford it.

BDA chairman Eddie Crouch said the price rises will place pressure on other NHS services.

"If patients have got an infection, and abscess and they need some antibiotics when they turn up at a dental surgery, they're going to be charged £25 for that," he said.

"If they bang down the door of their GP surgery and see them and get the antibiotics from them, it's not gonna cost them anything - and that incentive has to change."

In the YouGov poll, people were told that NHS dentistry is currently funded by a mix of direct government contributions from general taxation and patient charges.

They were asked: “Thinking about how NHS dentistry should be funded going forward, which of the following, if any, comes closest to your view?”

Some 38% of people said dentistry should be fully funded by the Government through general taxation, effectively free at the point of delivery.

Meanwhile, 29% said funding from the Government should increase, while maintaining some patient charges.

Overall, 16% said charge levels should remain unchanged.

Furthermore, 82% of people surveyed said exemptions should cover cancer patients, whose treatment can cause dental problems.

When asked “have you ever delayed or gone without an NHS dental treatment that you needed?”, 26% of people said they had gone without and 19% said they had delayed.

When asked why, 53% said treatment cost too much while 34% said they could not get an appointment and 13% thought treatment would be too painful.

On the main factors that influence what type of treatment people choose, 45% said the price, while a lower proportion, 36%, said the clinical recommendations of their dentist.

A fifth cited quality of appearance after treatment as a factor, while 18% said appointment availability.

The BDA is urging the government to halt any further planned increase in charges next year.

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