Dental MAYHEM: A quarter of Brits who can’t get a dentist appointment resort to ‘using pliers’ or ‘Turkey teeth’, shock report finds

More than a quarter of those unable to access an NHS dentist have resorted to DIY treatments such as pulling teeth out with pliers, an alarming study has revealed.

Meanwhile, a fifth who failed to access proper care in the UK over the past two years went abroad for a check-up or dental procedure.

Health leaders urged the Government to ‘pick up pace and keep its promises’ on dentistry, to avoid patients ‘reaching for pliers or cheap flights’.

Desperate patients have previously told MailOnline of desperate DIY procedures they’re resorted to — including pulling blackened teeth out with hardware tools or fashioning homemade false teeth from resin and superglue.

Reports have also told of some flying out to war-torn Ukraine to access dental treatment after being told they have ‘no chance’ of seeing an NHS dentist and being unable to afford sky-high private fees. 

Patients have also increasingly turned to unscrupulous, cut-price dentistry in Turkey, leaving many with ongoing health problems. 

The new Ipsos survey of 1,091 British adults found fewer than half (48 per cent) had made an appointment with an NHS dentist in the last two years.

More than a third (36 per cent) had not tried, while 18 per cent said they could not get an appointment.

Of those who had secured an appointment, 36 per cent said they waited longer than they would have liked, while 13 per cent were forced to travel outside their local area for care.

However, among those who could not get an appointment, more than a quarter (26 per cent) said they had treated themselves, while 19 per cent said they went abroad for treatment.

Almost seven in 10 (69 per cent) were forced to pay for private care.

Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association, said: ‘Desperate people are reaching for pliers or cheap flights because for many NHS dentistry has effectively ceased to exist.

‘This service can have a future, but only if government is willing to pick up pace and keep its promises.’

Elsewhere, the poll found 74 per cent of those questioned are either ‘very concerned’ or ‘fairly concerned’ about the current availability of dental care on the NHS.

Half of those who responded were not confident they would be able to make a routine appointment with an NHS dentist, while 53 per cnet were not confident they would be able to receive emergency care from an NHS dentist if needed.

More than half (51 per cent) said they were not confident they could afford routine treatment with a private dentist.

More than a third (36 per cent) said they were not confident they could afford routine treatment with an NHS dentist.

Earlier this month it emerged the amount that people pay for NHS dental care will rise from April 1.

While some people are entitled to free NHS dental care, many need to pay based on the type of treatment they need.

So-called Band 1 care, which includes check-ups or X-rays, will rise to £27.40 from £26.80, while Band 2 care, including fillings, root canal treatments and tooth extraction, will rise to £75.30 from £73.50.

Band 3, which includes patients who need dentures, crowns or braces, will cost £326.70, up from £319.10.

One of the dozens of patients known to have restored to DIY dentistry is Chris Langston, from Oswestry in Shropshire.

He described how he was forced to pull out a blackened molar with a pair of pliers after failing to get an NHS dentist appointment and unable to afford the private fees for its removal. 

Mr Langston said: ‘A little tug and a pull down on the pliers and it was done. I wouldn’t recommend it. Not to anyone. It was horrible.’ 

Another is Danielle Watts, 42, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, who became so desperate after waiting six years to be registered with a dentist that she pulled almost half of her teeth out with her fingers.

The mother-of-two had been suffering severe gum disease for many years but ended up squeezing her teeth out after they ‘started dying off one by one’ and none of the four dental practices in her are were taking on new patients. 

A Department of Health and Social care spokesperson said: ‘NHS dentistry is broken after years of neglect, forcing patients to resort to desperate measures.

‘We’re already rolling out 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and preventing tooth decay in young children through supervised toothbrushing.

‘But there is more to be done, and we will also reform the dental contract to increase provision through our Plan for Change.’