Worthing 82-year-old left in ‘agony’ without access to a dentist during lockdown

Simone Child, who lives on her own in Goring, has been in pain since her back molar broke in half more than a week ago.

Her daughter, Christine Child – who lives in Lancashire – said she was at risk of infection and could hardly speak because her mouth was so swollen.

“She’s been in agony for a whole week,” she said.

However due to the coronavirus crisis, she has been unable to get an appointment with her local dentist.

Face-to-face contact has been stopped at dental practices across England, with dentists only being able to offer advice over the phone.

Christine said it was frustrating that her mother could not be treated, and fears there were ‘thousands of others’ like her mother stuck ‘at home in agony’.

“It’s horrendous,” she said. “She’s at her wit’s end. She feels like getting some pliers and pulling it out herself.”

While dental practices are closed, Urgent Dental Care sites have been set up around the country where patients can be treated in emergencies – though the British Dental Association said there had been ‘slow progress’ in opening these hubs.

Christine said her mother had finally been referred to such a centre, but had been unable to get an appointment so far.

“It has only just opened and I think they are overwhelmed at the moment,” she said.

Toby Hancock, chairman of the West Sussex Local Dental Committee, who works in a practice in Chichester, said there were three such hubs in West Sussex, which were accessible by referral from a patient’s normal dental practices only.

He said it had taken the best part of a month to get them open – but that they were now up and running.

Mr Hancock expressed concerns that members of the public were suffering with dental pain, and said there were ‘bags of dentists out there’ like him who wanted to get back to work and treat patients.

He believes practices should be able to carry out their own risk assessments and continue to see patients, providing they had the right protective equipment and measures in place.

“We are all keen to get back to work to see our patients but until we are authorised to do so, our regulators have said they won’t cover us,” he said.

He said it felt ‘terrible’ to tell patients they could not be referred to see someone in person, because their pain was considered too mild. “It’s very difficult to give that news,” he said.

Mr Hancock pointed out that dentists had been permitted to continue working in Germany. “It’s just such a shame in England it has had to be stopped,” he said.

He hopes that the restrictions on dentists practicing may be eased in the coming weeks.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.