How big is the gap between private and NHS dentists? Open wider...

Patients forced to pay extra or bear the pain

- MATT ROPER

IN a nation of so much decay under the Tories, one area has probably suffered the most: our teeth.

And the state of public dentistry in Britain is now so rotten, some fear it cannot be saved.

Yesterday, it emerged some patients face a 10-year wait for an appointment.

And a YouGov poll found one in 10 adults have tried DIY dentistry, whether pulling out their teeth with pliers or sticking them back in with superglue.

Others are resorting to travelling abroad to places such as Turkey to see a dentist due to lack of slots in the UK.

The British Dental Association estimates 11 million people are caught up in NHS treatment delays.

Seeing a dentist on the NHS used to be quick and easy but today it is more painful than... well, than pulling teeth.

At the heart of the problem is something common in the NHS - the haemorrhaging of professionals who, amid funding cuts, decide public sector work is no longer worth their while.