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I found it impossible to get a dentist appointment – I ripped out bits of tooth with pliers
A FRUSTRATED man has shared how he was forced to rip out bits of his tooth with pliers after struggling to find a dentist.
Carlton Hill, 28, from Gorseinon, Swansea, described how he resorted to the painful procedure after spending months trying to get access to dental care.
It all started at the beginning of the pandemic when the 28-year-old needed to find a dentist to treat his chipped molar.
He told Wales Online: "I had to rip bits of tooth off my gums using pliers, but the nerves died off after that so the pain wasn't too bad.
"When I called NHS direct again seeking urgent help, I was told that the pain wasn't severe enough for a referral to an emergency dentist, because all they could do for me was ease the pain rather than extract the roots."
After previously reaching to NHS direct for emergency help, where a dentist drilled into the tooth and filled it with an antibiotic, Carlton was advised to seek a dentist for a permanent fix.
But he explained that despite his efforts he was unable to find an available dentist as most of them would not accept new patients after Covid struck.
As he could not see any other solution, Carlton decided to use pliers to fix the problem himself.
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He added: "Since then, I have had multiple abscesses in that area which I have learnt to drain myself.
"Last week on the opposite side of my mouth, another molar cracked, this time leaving a sharp jagged edge cutting up my tongue.
"I called through to NHS direct seeking urgent help to again be told that all the dentist will do is ease the pain not fix the issue and I need to seek a dentist despite being turned away everywhere.
"I resorted to using a wireless dremel to shave down the sharp end of my tooth to avoid cutting open my tongue."
Carlton, who works as a project coordinator, said that he "sees no end" to his time without professional dental care.
He added: "I am so scared now of how much this will cost me to have fixed when it could have been avoided in the first place.
"I'm a full-time professional in my field, and my speech and mouth health is detrimental to my life yet I can't get help anywhere to avoid it being destroyed."
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