www.mddus.com


PHOTOGRAPHS: DENTAID/NICK O’DONOVAN


Clockwise from main


picture: Nick O’Donovan at his practice; Clare Skipper, who resorted to pulling her


own tooth out with a pair of pliers; Nick volunteering at a dental clinic in Malawi


A review of the service shows most patients


have either a single (48 per cent) or multiple extractions (13 per cent). One of the first patients to benefit from the scheme was Matthew Phillips who had a wisdom tooth removed. He said he’d been “in pain for months” but couldn’t get an NHS dentist to see him and admitted: “I can’t sleep, it’s affecting my whole life. Without toothache my life will be much better.” Claire Skipper, 29, sought help after pulling


her own tooth out with a pair of pliers. She says she’s been unable to find a


practice accepting NHS patients, adding: “I dread something going wrong with my teeth again. I can’t afford to go on a private care plan – sometimes we don’t have enough money for the electricity meter. No one in Britain now should have to resort to pulling out their own teeth and it’s fantastic that these dentists care enough to help.” As well as the community benefit, dentists


in surrounding areas have benefited by extending their professional network, says Nick: “As dentists, we are often very insular, but now we are all talking to one another a lot more than we would have done. I now know dentists who have been working in the next town for 15 years.”


“No one in Britain should have to resort to pulling out their own teeth and it’s fantastic that these dentists care enough to help”


The future Now, six months after the pilot was launched, Dentaid hopes to extend the scheme to other parts of the country and increase access to emergency dentistry by working with the NHS.


The charity’s strategic director, Andy Evans,


recently met with the Chief Dental Officer Sara Hurley to discuss the scheme’s future. Andy says the scheme is about “breaking


down barriers” and enabling more people to access dentistry. “We want to help the people who are falling


through the gaps – to stop them self- medicating, extracting their own teeth or trying to live with long-term dental pain,” he says. “We know the NHS does a wonderful job but some people are still missing out and they are often those with the greatest dental needs. We’re very excited about the prospects for this project as it moves forward.” To find out more about The Real Junk Tooth


Project, including how to volunteer, contact Dentaid on 01794 324249 or email info@dentaid.org


Kristin Ballantyne is a freelance writer based in Glasgow


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