To try to pull my tooth out as i can't get a dentist?

[WovenStarfish]

So, possibly due to a fall last year, one of my back molars is very loose. It has been gradually worsening for months, but is now so loose that it is catching on my other teeth and causing quite a bit of pain. Can't use that side of my mouth, sometimes just opening it is painful. I've not been able to find an nhs dentist - I'm on a waiting list but it is currently over a year! Going private is not an option as there is no way I can afford it. 111 don't class it as an emergency. I've been pulling & twisting it for weeks, but it still won't just get out. Yesterday, I'd had enough, so I sterilised a pair of pliers & attempted to get it out myself. Didn't work - it's a stubborn old thing. My family think I'm totally insane to even attempt removal with pliers, but I think it's reasonable given the circumstances.
Sorry, first time posting so be gentle 😊

You can indeed set up a payment plan, and they are great, they’ll even do a credit check on you to ensure you can afford it.

Can people see why this might perhaps be a problem for some?

Can you ask if your dentist will do it privately but on a payment plan? Our dentist offers plans for more expensive private treatments, so may be able to accommodate it.

OP I would go through your budget with a fine tooth comb and see where you can trim money or cut expenditure to try and make you the money. Are there things you can sell or bills you can defer paying?

This has to be a priority.

On registering with an NHs dentist, i thought that there was not really any such thing as an NHS dentist anymore but NHS treatments. So dentists can choose to offer treatments on the NHS price list or not. I am registered with a pratcie that offer both and I have my check ups at NHS prices but my hygienist appointments are private.

Call 111 and they can refer you to an emergency dentist
Please don't attempt your own dentistry. I almost died after a mismanaged wisdom tooth extraction.

Have you actually tried calling 111? We did. They can't refer you. They just give you a list of dentists and you still get turned away. Even emergency has a waiting list.

I know how you are feeling. I lost a filling in my molar and the tooth was so painful. I got an abscess in it. I can't afford a dentist and can't see an nhs one anyway and have a dentist phobia. I treated the abscess myself by getting the crap out constantly and gargling with antibacterial mouthwash and the tooth is now not painful. I don't know if the root has died and so that's why. I know it needs sorting but for the reasons above it hasn't been. I also was tempted to pull it out myself when the pain was stopping me sleeping or eating properly. Tooth ache is the worst. I really sympathise but don't pull it out yourself. PP's are right. You will cause more problems

Reading this thread is so sad and depressing. We live in 2023 and the average citizen cannot get to see an NHS dentist . Everyone is giving as much helpful advice as they can but it is absolutely bloody scary and disgusting that a whole generation of people are going to have black holey teeth .
Obviously Rich=healthy straight white teeth .
Poor = unhealthy ,yellow teeth

But even if she can't get a credit card, she still doesn't need the money upfront.

Every single dentist I've ever used has offered a payment plan.

I ended up at the local Hospital Dental Dept (10 week wait) as the NHS emergency Dentist (3m wait) had snapped my tooth removing it (after 18m wait during covid for treatment). The Dental Hosp guy was absolutely scathing about NHS Dentists performance over past 2 years & said my tooth should've been ok.
I'd been left with a rotten tooth with an abcess underneath that had gone into my jaw, then with roots sticking out (temp patch put over but hurt like hell), then had dry socket. I now have a massive gap so cant chew on that side so am wearing down the teeth on the other side. I asked my dentist (1st non emergency appointment in over 2 years) what can be done on the NHS to fill that gap. She said: 'a denture, but we can't just do one tooth, so it would be £1,500 for a bridge or £3k for an implant'. I am a Carer, in receipt of £68 p/w.
Ha ha ha... There IS no NHS Dentistry in the UK anymore. There's very little NHS treatment at all: 6m still waiting genetic screening results, 3m wait for biopsy on '2ww' cancer pathway, my cousin waiting 4m for her cancer biopsy. Its' broken.

sorry for ramble OP. Please don't try to treat yourself you could get a serious infection. If you cannot access ANY emergency treatment I'd go to a private dentist if at all possible. I know mine only went on so long as I didn't have the 1.5K I was told I'd need as 'the roots are very deep, very skewed & very infected'.

Yeah, they referred me and I got a call. They refused to see me because 'it doesn't sound like an infection', leaving me to go septic...but 111 did refer.

Please don't do this op - dentists don't actually 'pull' teeth out and trying to do so yourself is likely to result in the tooth breaking and root being left in your jaw which will be a much bigger issue to resolve.

I work at a private practice and an emergency app is £80 and we often will extract in that app if needed. Try calling a couple of your local practices and see if they can fit you in, explain the problem and what the cost would be?

Thanks everyone. I don't think I'd really thought about how much damage I could do, I just wanted the pain to stop. I appreciate your advice & will not try it again. For what it's worth, I don't have a credit card and I already struggle to make ends meet so can't really cut back any more. My job doesn't do a dental plan either but I will look into the emergency dentists so thank you for that. I have no experience with dental emergencies & I haven't been registered with a dentist for years.

Not if you haven’t got a good credit rating, as I understand it. There’s a credit check involved?

What do you want people to say? Go for it, hurt yourself and possibly cause a major issue like sepsis?

They're trying to offer solutions she may not have thought of.

I don't know - I've always been offered it after the procedure but I've never been in a position to need it luckily.

Phone 111 and tell them you're not registered with a dentist, you can't get an appointment and you're in agony. They'll get you an emergency appointment, you may have to travel but it shouldn't be too far.

www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/how-can-i-access-an-nhs-dentist-in-an-emergency-or-out-of-hours/

I hear you. I am also considering pulling my own tooth out. It is not painful, but is moving at an alarming rate in my mouth. It is now sticking out of my mouth and between my lips at a very unnatural angle. Google says it is a cancer in my jaw, but without seeing an actual dentist, I don't know what is going on.
I have called 111 - no swelling and no pain.. so no hope of seeing a dentist. I am on benefits and can't afford to go private. There are no NHS dentists taking on patients in my whole county, and no dental hospitals that would take me either.

My tooth is under my eye and has long roots (so I have been told in the past). I would shred half my sinuses if I attempted home surgery. Maybe if I do that, I could go to A&E and get looked at.

I am pretty sick of people saying that a lack of NHS dentistry will lead to minor things like yellow teeth and cavities. Dentists also look for oral cancers and serious issues like periodontal disease.

At this point (and I hope a journo picks it up), I might end up losing half my face if I finally get to see a dentist and get a proper diagnosis with something.
This is how bad the crisis is. It is not just a case of missed cavities and hygiene appointments.

I hope you manage to get sorted, OP. If you call 111 again, tell them you will be attempting to pull the tooth yourself.

If someone can't get a credit card they're unlikely to pass a credit check usually required for dental payment plans

I was struggling to find an NHS dentist until I ran into a dentist at the gym who told me that they tend to open up the lists at the start of the tax year because that’s when funding gets reissued - that would be next week! It may well be worth waiting another week and, on the day, phone as many local dentists as you can to see if they have spaces. She said they tend to go to those who pester on the day rather than waiting lists because it’s a lot less faff.

Pull your own tooth out, get dry socket and wish you'll wish so hard you'd found the money to go private.

Look after your dental health.

FFS, you may as well blame OP for not planting a money tree in her garden.

People are in pain and resorting to extreme measures due to a lack of NHS dentists.
One day, you might find yourself looking on Youtube how to remove your own gall bladder because the NHS wont do it anymore. And when you are already broke, "going private" is just an insult to injury.

A couple of years ago I ignored a painful tooth because I would have struggled to even pay NHS charges. I got an awful infection and have had lots of trouble ever since. Around this time I was sent information via my union ( unison) about members benefits including a dental plan . I think it is open to anyone . I pay £ 11.50 month and can claim upto £550 a year back on NHS dentistry. The dental hygienists fees are
not included as she is private. It's called the Bolton and District Saturday hospital fund or something similar. I know this does not help OP now as you cannot claim for a current problem but I no longer dread going to the dentist because of the cost .I pay the dentist and claim it back from the hospital fund . Sorry if someone else has suggested this already . It is nothing short of a scandal that people should be in such pain . So sorry OP. Hope you get help .

It's not going to be £1,500 for a bridge on the NHS. My partner had a bridge recently on the NHS for a missing tooth, it was about £100.

If you have a local dental hospital, contact them and ask them how you can go about being referred for an extraction.

Good for your partner. OP can not access NHS treatment.