A man and his wife have left many people bewildered after it was found out that they had pulled out their own teeth.
Rebecca Brearey and Nick Oldroyd, identified as an out-of-work couple have revealed that they were forced to pull out their own teeth because they were in so much pain after waiting four years for NHS treatment.
According to Metro UK, the couple performed the DIY surgery after knocking back some stiff drinks as an anaesthetic.
For years they tried in vain to numb the pain with painkillers and alcohol before wrenching their own rotten teeth out with their bare hands.
The couple from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, have been begging for treatment since 2013.
But they were told by every dentist they contacted there was a two year delay in registering.
Rebecca said: ‘We’ve been trying for four years but no dentist will take us on. Every time I go, I get told there’s a two-year waiting list for NHS patients.
‘It’s got so bad that after taking a combination of paracetamol and alcohol I ripped my half-rotten teeth out.
‘The state of my teeth has made me depressed and I’ve literally begged to be taken on by an NHS dentist, but every time I’ve been turned away.’
Mr Oldroyd said: ‘I was sat there for days in agony with a tooth which was doing my head in and stopping me from sleeping. I was drinking to just try and just numb the pain so one night I just pulled it out.
The tops of my teeth are gone. I’m on benefits and trying to get a job, and when someone sees my teeth they just think I’m another waster.
‘I do believe if I could get some dental care I might be able to begin turning my life around.’
An analysis of 2,500 dental practices on the NHS Choices website has revealed half were not accepting new adult NHS patients, and two-fifths turning children away.
The British Dental Association said the figures reflected an ’emerging crisis’ in dental care in England.
NHS England has confirmed that 95 per cent of people seeking an appointment could get one.
