Kaspars Grenenbergs had “unbearable” toothache and was unable to get an NHS dentist so he used whisky for disinfection, took painkillers and ripped the tooth out
A dad has told how he pulled out his own tooth using a pipe wrench after struggling to get an NHS dentist appointment. Kaspars Grenenbergs, 44, said he had “unbearable” toothache and so readied 100g of whisky for disinfection, took painkillers to try and numb the pain before wiggling the tooth out.
The father-of-two says he had tried all four local NHS dentists but none could get him in. His is the latest horror story we have reported as part of the Mirror ’s Dentists for All campaign as most practices are no longer taking on new adult NHS patients. Kaspars, who works for a cable company, from Downham Market, Norfolk, said: “The pain was really bad, unbearable – it’s hard to explain how painful it is.
“I had my pipe grippers, prepared and 100g of alcohol, painkillers, ibuprofen, and I pulled it out myself. I did it in front of the mirror in the bathroom and prepared some salt water. It took a lot of twisting to get out – I tried to move it as much as I could before I pulled it out.
“It was one of the big molars at the back and I tried not to break the root off as otherwise I’d be putting myself in more danger with the root left in. The kids were at home with my partner, and they thought I was joking at first, but the pain was just so bad.”
Kaspars had been having minor pain for a few days, but on Monday, 31 March, it suddenly intensified. He said: “I couldn’t wait and no one was getting back to me. I started getting cold sweats from the pain, and I was getting bad headaches and everything was pulsing – I don’t know how bad that could have ended up. So I pulled it out the same day.”
The lack of dentist availability even had Kaspars considering boarding a plane for an appointment – something he says his partner, Nadezda, 39, a retail worker, has done before. He added: “Over here, you could be travelling from county to county just to get an appointment.
“It happened to my missus as well. She couldn’t get an appointment at the dentist before Covid, so she flew home to Latvia for an appointment and came back 24 hours later.
“Here you’re paying National Insurance and suddenly when you’re faced with a situation like this you feel outcast. I managed to get through to one dentist, but they said they had no slots, or they offered me private.
“But they then realised they couldn’t offer me private because they were dealing with an NHS emergency. I think if they had space they were supposed to take me as an NHS patient so they couldn’t offer private.”
The NHS advises anyone that has toothache for more than two days to see a dentist and use pain-relieving gel while waiting for an appointment.
It comes after we reported last week a damning report has found the Government is only funding NHS dentistry enough so that just half the population can be seen. The cross-party Parliamentary committee concluded the dentists payment contract is “not fit for purpose” and should be ripped up and a new funding framework introduced.
It follows reports that the Treasury has been behind delays to reform as it had not committed how much to increase funding for NHS dentistry in England.
The Public Accounts Committee found 40% of adults saw an NHS dentist in the two years to March 2024, compared to 49% in the two years pre-pandemic.
A Government spokesman said: “We inherited NHS dentistry services left broken by years of neglect. Through our Plan for Change, we are working to rebuild the sector and expand access.
“We are already rolling out an extra 700,000 urgent appointments, introducing a supervised toothbrushing programme to prevent tooth decay in young children, and reforming the dental contract to make NHS work more appealing to dentists.”