Is Britain becoming a Toothless Nation?

by Beaulieu | September 1, 2009 at 04:56 am

187 views | 2 Recommendations | 7 comments

IS IT JUST ME or has anyone else noticed how many people on our streets have no front teeth, both men and women? This is the kind of thing you see in some third world countries. Saying that I know people who have gone tocommunist China to get their teeth fixed cheaply.

Losing one tooth can happen by accident anyway but I have seen several people who have lost over four front teeth.

Many people can't afford private dental treatment and many towns do not have any.NHS dentists. Even if they find an NHS dentist, they may have to wait a long time for an appointment.

I lost a tooth a few months ago due to eating a tough falafel and it took me two weeks to get it fixed. My NHS dentist only worked twice a week. I was lucky to have it fixed as quick as two weeks. As it was cosmetic and I was in no pain, I couldn't have it done on an emergency basis.

It was only when I lost a tooth myself then I realised noticed that others lost many more teeth than me. You also wonder how they can eat properly losing so many teeth.

One of those observations that tells you what is really going on.

Yes, it does:-) I've noticed that the poor are hardest hit. I will keep looking out for this observation. My home town doesn't have an NHS and it's looking desperate already.

It makes senior citizens suffer more because they cannot chew. My Mother always had the best dental care all her life. Then when I went home to take care of her I noticed later her Dentist had done some lousy work so I switched her to a younger one. The dental assistant that also caused me to move her to another one..came out to me and said in a judgemental way, " You need to not let her eat popcorn anymore. I had to take a lot of popcorn thingies (I don't know what ya call it..looks like transparent gold eggshell) out before I could clean her teeth!" I was annoyed and wanted to say , 'well she is 85 and by golly she can eat whatever she wants. We pay you plenty to clean her teeth"

Later other problems came along and decisions had to be made to remove the top and get falseteeth. They always have the attitude that well now you are old it's not important. For vanity especially. It is about dignity. I wanted to scream is this the way you want to be treated? Would you have done this to your Mother if she had all the money to pay for anything (my Mother could afford whatever she needed too) So this was about judgement.

You can imagine how "society" treats the poor or unattractive in the dental offices. I notice the assistants have a lot to say about decisions too.

My Mother's health deteriorated a lot after this. and her enjoyment of food.

Teeth should be at the top of anyone's list no matter what the age. Take good care of what you have is my motto.

You have a point when they start wanting to give old people 'false teeth' and they 'think it doesn't matter as they're old'. It's not fair. I feel the same with wheelchairs, why can't they make them more funky? It's very ageist.

When I lost my front tooth, it felt horrible and you thought 'everyone was looking'. It made you actually 'feel bad', and you stopped doing things and it was not good for confidence. I think it damages you psychologically, if you feel bad.

Dental care in the UK is so expensive. When I lived there, I used to wait till I got back to Canada to go to the dentist, it was actually cheaper and I got seen right away.

I'm amazed it was cheaper in Canada, Amy.

We work with a charity that helps those not able to access or afford dental care. It is amazing the difference we see in the confidence of people after implants.