Without an appointment with the dentist, a woman pulls out 11 teeth on her own

A British woman has had 11 of her teeth removed in the past two and a half years after suffering pain and not receiving help from dentists. Danielle Watts, 42, of Suffolk, England, says she stopped controlling her oral health six years ago, but had to seek a specialist because of the recurring pain.

Watts’ story was announced last Monday (4) by the BBC. With hardships, she has not been able to access treatments since the old clinic in her neighbourhood, which she and her two children frequented, closed.

“I didn’t have anyone to turn to. All the places I tried said they don’t accept patients through the NHS, but they offered to meet us in private consultations,” Danielle says, noting the difficulties of finding professionals to screen for free, through the NHS (the service). National Health Service, in free Portuguese) and noted that they were unable to pay for the interventions.

pandemic NSOvid-19 has changed the work dynamics for dentists, too, although they are not at the forefront of fighting the virus. That’s because the number of patients who can be seen with NHS benefits per day has decreased, which has also led to an increase in the number of people waiting for free medical help, according to the BBC.

To maintain clinics, many professionals decided to start a business privately to help maintain equipment and rent clinic space.

“At the moment, I don’t see how any company can continue to work only with the NHS,” Dr Mittal Patel, who has a clinic in England, said in an interview with British Car. “The problem was bad enough before Covid and it got worse,” he said. “It won’t go away, it’s only getting worse.”

In Danielle’s case, the length of time that dental problems were not treated led to bone loss and softening of the teeth, making them easier to extract. Before deciding to have her removed, she sought emergencies, but since her face was not swollen, the tendency has always been to take painkillers and stay in check.

“I can try to eat normally and think about not taking painkillers for a while,” she reflects, about life after 11 extractions, which left her with only a third of her teeth. “It got to the point where the teeth were sitting in my mouth, without support, even if it was a simple sneeze and they could come out,” he said.

Despite her relief, she says meals are still a painful ritual. Larger solid foods like sandwiches are still out of reach. Moreover, Danielle says that she lost her self-confidence even to speak.

“I feel paranoid about what my voice sounds like because I know my sentences are no longer forming properly,” he says.

The woman’s former dentist, who did not recommend her to other specialists, ended up opening a new clinic later, but only for special patients.