A MUM who couldn’t afford the “extreme” cost of UK dentistry fees became so desperate she was forced to superglue one of her loose teeth to her gums.
Lisa Morris, 50, from Tonypandy, Wales, had been suffering from severe gum disease and deteriorating teeth, largely due to years of smoking.
She was told she needed to have all her teeth removed to make way for temporary implants then a full set of implants, a treatment not available on the NHS.
Instead, she was quoted £33,000 to have her teeth fixed by a private dentist at a NHS clinic, a figure she couldn’t possibly afford.
Instead, mum-of-two Lisa put up with months of bleeding gums and tooth pain, until eventually one of her front teeth was close to falling out.
Speaking to Fabulous, she said: “I had already lost a lot of back teeth [due to gum disease], but when it came to a point where my front teeth were getting loose, I thought ‘Oh this is getting serious now.’
“I couldn’t eat anything like steak as I was worried they were going to come out. They would bleed and were painful.
“One was hanging by a thread so I used superglue to put it back in. My husband said I was mad, but I was so desperate. I felt I had no other option.”
Lisa, a supermarket worker, says she’s always had a complex about her teeth, admitting she was so ashamed of their appearance that she wouldn’t smile in family pictures and would cover her mouth with her hand when talking to customers.
“I would never smile, I would never show my teeth,” she said. “I was self conscious and would always put my arm up to cover my mouth when talking to people, it was just really getting me down.
“I was always petrified of going to the dentist, I think it was the embarrassment.
“Then my father got diagnosed with cancer and he passed away, I fell into depression and then COVID came. Before I knew it I had missed so many dental appointments.
“When I did call to book they said ‘Sorry you are not part of the NHS anymore, you are private’ and they said it was because I had skipped so many appointments.
“Eventually I was so desperate to get my teeth sorted I paid to go privately, but the cost to get everything done was so extreme, it was around £33,000.
“I was so shocked I couldn’t believe it. They also said I would have to be toothless for around eight weeks while my gums healed and shrunk back and I just couldn’t have done that. I felt worse coming out than when I did going in.”
Panicking that she couldn’t afford the cost of dentistry in the UK, Lisa looked at options abroad.
A recent poll showed that more than one in 20 Brits are heading overseas for treatments and that most of those were doing so to cut the cost of treatment.
After lots of research and following a recommendation from a friend, Lisa found Dentum, a clinic in Zagreb, Croatia, who could help her.
There, she could have all her teeth removed, given temporary implants, then replaced with permanent implants, plus her flights, all for a third of the cost in the UK.
ERIN Fraundorf, DMD, MSD, owner of BOCA Orthodontic + Whitening Studio in Missouri, shared her top tips for whiter teeth.
Seek whitening treatment from a professional. It’s often stronger and will be the most effective so you don’t waste your money on a product that doesn’t work or may harm you. You also only get one set of teeth, so it’s best not to experiment on them.
Consider the cause of the staining. There are numerous causes for teeth to have a yellow or brown tint. Be sure to get evaluated and diagnosed by a professional to ensure you receive the best treatment for your stains. Not all stains are the same so they may require different treatments.
Consider your lifestyle, smile goals, and budget. When choosing a whitening treatment that is best for you, consider multiple factors when designing a custom plan. Some people like homework to whiten at home, some prefer in-office treatments only, some need to get really bright really fast — for a wedding, for example — whereas others would like a more gentle, gradual, consistent approach to whitening.
Ease into it. Start integrating teeth whitening into your routine gradually to get your teeth accustomed to it and you can closely monitor your level of sensitivity to regulate how frequently you can whiten.
Try to prevent. Make tiny changes to your lifestyle in an effort to prevent staining from penetrating your teeth. For example, sip staining beverages through a straw, swish with plain water after drinking anything staining, and pick flat water over sparkling whenever possible.
Water floss to help in between the teeth stains. Blast away stubborn stains in between your teeth with a water flosser, because toothbrush bristles can only reach so much of your tooth surface.
Lisa says: “I was searching all options, but I realised I would have to go abroad to get them fixed.
“My teeth would have all fallen out had I not come here [Croatia]. I still used a chunk of savings to pay for it (£13,500), but it was nowhere near the cost in the UK.
“Everything in the UK is private now. I used to see people before and I couldn’t understand why they would have no teeth, I would think ‘What are you doing? Why can’t you get them sorted’ but you can’t, even with an NHS dentist now you have to pay and people just can’t afford it.”
Dr Petar Bago, one of the founders of Dentum, told Fabulous they are seeing more and more Brits visit each year as the UK dentistry crisis continues.
“People are not coming here for fillings,” he said. “It’s for bigger surgeries, but mainly implants. I did 10 implants just today. For the price and for the quality people get here, you cannot get that on the NHS.
“And that’s what we focus on here, it’s quality not quantity. A patient can have their first appointment one morning and other appointments later that day or the next. Then they can go home.”
Last month The British Dental Association warned hundreds of practices were already running at a loss and that Rachel Reeves’ budget would “push more of them closer to the brink with no choice other than to move away from NHS services”.
