[Plantagenet]

"Free" healthcare in Britain under the "National Healthcare System (NHS) means no dental care for many people....some areas have no NHS dentists and those dentists in the NHS are so overburdened they can have waiting lists that take years to get through.

Brits say they use glue and pliers to fix their own teeth

"....three-quarters of those polled said they ... had been unable to find an NHS dentist. Almost a fifth said they had refused dental treatment because of the cost.

One respondent in Lancashire, northern England, claimed to have extracted 14 of their own teeth with a pair of pliers. In Liverpool, one of those collecting data for the survey interviewed three people who had pulled out their own teeth in one morning.

"I took most of my teeth out in the shed with pliers. I have one to go," another respondent wrote.

Others said they had fixed broken crowns using glue to avoid costly dental work.

Valerie Halsworth, 64, told British television's GMTV she had removed seven of her own teeth using her husband's pliers when her toothache became unbearable and she was unable to find an NHS dentist willing to treat her.

Halsworth admitted that the first extraction had been "excruciatingly painful." But she added: "It got that painful that I just had to do something... When you have taken a tooth out... the pain has gone."

[Plantagenet]

"I snapped it out myself" Ouch!

[Kingcoal]

That's funny. Temple University in Philadelphia has a huge Dental program. They're work on your teeth for free. Of course, they are students operating under supervision and sometimes you might have to wait a month for an appointment, but it sure beats self-dentistry!

[dukey]

i dont think i've ever heard of someone pulling a tooth out themselves .. unless an adult tooth was coming through already and replacing a baby tooth...

Getting NHS dentist down here is a peice of cake. Had no problems.

And .. say if there are no NHS dentists, people can always go private.

Makes a nice story for the paper i guess.

[Plantagenet]

There's something rotten in Britain

British Teeth

The book "British Teeth" uses the sad state of Britain's dental hygiene as a metaphor for British society.

[threadbear]

I know when I vacationed in England a few years back, I was gripped by a strong desire to pull a tooth or two out with pliers. Must be something in the air.

[strider3700]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'I') know when I vacationed in England a few years back, I was gripped by a strong desire to pull a tooth or two out with pliers. Must be something in the air.

[Grifter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('strider3700', '
')
actually it's probably the warm beer.

[Battle_Scarred_Galactico]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grifter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('strider3700', '
')
actually it's probably the warm beer.