January 30, 2023 4.30 pm This story is over 24 months old

Lincoln village man pulls out his own teeth after struggling to find a dentist

He has pulled out six of his own teeth at home

A retired roofer from a village near Lincoln who is struggling to register with an NHS dentist has resorted to pulling his own teeth out with pliers at his home.

Alex Gray doesn’t have too many of his own teeth, but if any cause him pain he turns to his toolbox, as he has been unable to find an NHS dentist to join since moving to Lincolnshire six years ago.

Alex has pulled out six of his own teeth at his home in Heighington and told BBC Look North: “Yes, it’s frightening, it really is. The first time I split my lip doing it, but I got the tooth out and lost the pain.”

Alex Gray has pulled out six of his own teeth. | Screenshot: BBC Look North

The BBC and the British Dental Association carried out extensive research into the shortage of NHS dentists last summer.

Of those that responded, none in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire were accepting new adult NHS patients at the time, and only 6% of them were accepting children.


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