“Horrendous” tooth pain results in DIY tooth extraction

Jacqueline Shepherd developed severe tooth ache in February 2022. Jacqueline told Nottinghamshire Live the pain was “horrendous” and completely overwhelming. "I have a high pain threshold but it was too painful," she said. "I kept twisting it - it took me two days to finally get it out."

She is not alone, as a recent poll discovered that almost a quarter of all Brits tried to get a local NHS dentist appointment and failed. Of these, one in five (21 per cent) have turned to DIY dentistry.

The pain seems to have begun after Jacqueline started a new medication which caused a vitamin D deficiency and loosened her teeth. Unable to afford private treatment, she spent hours every day on the phone attempting to get an appointment. Jacqueline even called 111 on three occasions, but she was only given more numbers for dentists. All of which had no available appointments.