‘I’ve been forced to live on painkillers and soup’, says toothless ex-miner who can’t afford £5,400 dental op

A FURIOUS ex-miner says he has been forced to eat a diet of soup and prescription painkillers because he can’t get NHS dental treatment.

David Creamer, 62, has been left in “agony” for more than seven months while trying to get an appointment to fix four crowns that snapped off his top jaw.

SWNSDavid Creamer, 62, from Rotherham, has been forced to eat a diet of prescription painkillers and soup because he can’t get NHS dental treatment[/caption]

SWNSDavid’s set of crowns had snapped off his top jaw in Blackpool in June last year[/caption]

Despite visiting emergency dental clinics, his GP and contacting surgeries, he still hasn’t found a practice that will take him on — and he can’t afford £5,400 for private treatment.

David joked how he now wished he’d “trained as a dentist” after recently being given the eye-watering quote at a private clinic.

He said: “I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. I’m absolutely shocked – a country like this. I hear on the news we’re one of the top six richest countries in the world.

“Well, we might be if you’ve got a very, very large bank account, that appears to be the gist of things.

“I never used to have a problem before with dentists. I never had a problem all my life until this happened.

“It’s bad enough getting a doctor’s appointment around here – it takes two weeks to get that. As for dentists, I think it’s a dying art.

“It’s fine if you’ve got money, if you haven’t, you just won’t see one. It’s definitely a two-tier system. You’re on your own.”

David’s shocking case comes amid a crisis in NHS dentistry, with Nuffield Trust experts warning it is “likely gone for good”.

Just 857 out of 4,969 NHS-registered dentists are taking on adult patients, according to analysis by the Labour party.

It is forcing Brits to go private if they can afford to — but many are left having to resort to DIY dentistry instead because of high costs.

Data released by the Government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities yesterday showed a quarter of adults have delayed dental care or treatment because of the cost.

David, who worked for 17 years at Silverwood Colliery, near Ravenfield, South Yorkshire, said his set of crowns had snapped off his top jaw in Blackpool in June last year.

He had just tucked into a sandwich while on holiday in the seaside destination when he felt a sharp pain in his gums as the four enamel tooth coverings came away.

David had headed to an emergency dentist for vulnerable residents in Blackpool but said that the centre was “chock-a-block full of people” and he couldn’t be seen.

He visited his GP when he returned to his home town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

The former pitman was then prescribed with high strength Co-codamol painkillers, which he now takes one every four hours, as well as Naproxen to reduce his swelling.

David also went to a local emergency dentist, who told him he’d need some roots taken out and several of his teeth had shattered — but said they couldn’t treat him.

And seven months later, he is still struggling to find an NHS practitioner who will perform the much-needed surgery to put him out of his misery.

Crisis in NHS dentistry

He said: “Here we are, end of January nearly, and I’m still here, on these tablets every day, in constant pain.

“I’m living on soup and rice puddings as that’s all I can eat. I can’t chew anything.

“If the pain would go away, I don’t mind walking around looking like a hobbit with no teeth. But it’s the pain — if somebody can just do something about it.”

He added: “People are pulling their own teeth out with plyers or whatever.

“Mine’s far too painful to pull out with plyers. I’ve got some and I’ve been tempted, but I’m not going down that root. I’m just going to hang on the best I can.”

David, who is currently receiving benefits, said he had gone to a private clinic earlier this month where he had to pay £40 for an initial assessment.

But he was stunned when the dentists told him the price for fixing his teeth would be £5,400 and then suggested he take out a loan for £6,000 to cover the costs.

David said: “They X-rayed me, and they said, ‘We could do the job here tomorrow… if you’ve got £5,400’.

“I said I’ve got about £6 in my account, and I’m on benefits. There’s no way I can afford it. I’m almost 63, and have no savings whatsoever.”

David said he took his case to his local Labour MP Sarah Champion, who later complained to ministers about the state of dentistry in her local area.

She said: “The Tory Government have abandoned NHS dental care. 

“I am furious that my constituent has been left to suffer years of pain, surviving on a diet of painkillers and soup after being let down by the over-stretched and under-funded system.

“Worst still, this case is far from unique.

“We all have a right to NHS dental care. But the Government’s negligence has left fewer and fewer people able actually access the care to which they are entitled.

“The Tories have turned their back on dentistry for far too long. The recent debate saw them hide behind the same old, tired excuses. Enough is enough.”

The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment.

SWNSDavid says he has been tempted to pull out his remaining shards of teeth with pliers[/caption]

SWNSHe has been prescribed with high strength Co-codamol painkillers, which he now takes one every four hours[/caption]