A patient who made his own prosthesis
In fact, this piece of news highlights the importance of access to dental care. We have previously discussed the development of dental tourism in countries where treatment costs are significantly lower than in the USA. However, today we would like to discuss an incident that occurred in Britain.
Desperate times – desperate patients
A 43-year-old male patient lost teeth 11 and 21 due to trauma. He was unable to secure an appointment with a general dentist through the National Health Service and could not afford a private dentist. Consequently, he took the initiative to purchase the necessary components and crafted a removable denture himself.
Homemade polymer prosthesis, which the patient made himself
This work is commendable today and would have been considered extraordinary in the 19th century. However, the homemade prosthesis led to numerous stability issues, and the gingival contact profile was neither ideal nor hygienic. As a result, the soft tissues got inflamed and were damaged at the site of the partial denture. Ultimately, the patient was referred to the University Dental Clinic of Manchester, where this case was documented.
Homemade prosthesis installed in the patient’s mouth
Further clinical examination revealed gingival inflammation and the presence of multiple carious lesions in the remaining teeth, underscoring the patient’s unmet primary dental care needs. However, one must question why the patient resorted to creating his own prosthesis and why he was unable to receive timely dental care. After all, this is Britain we’re discussing, not the countries of Central Africa.
The BBC, supported by the British Dental Association (BDA), conducted a survey in mid-2022 that yielded very alarming results. The survey found that 90% of NHS dental practices involved in the study (6,193 out of 6,880) could not accept new adult patients. Among these practices, 25% maintained an open waitlist, and a significant 17% had a wait time of one year or more, or were unable to provide accurate waitlist information.
These findings show why the individual demonstrated such resourcefulness by fabricating the prosthesis himself. While the US boasts better access to dental care, many people still cannot afford timely treatment. Therefore, attention should also be given to the funding of offices and clinics that serve the low-income segments of the population.
References:
- BBC – 90 percent of NHS dental practices in the UK are not accepting new patients, BBC survey finds ; August 8, 2022
- BDA – NHS dentistry at a tipping point, as BBC reveal true extent of access crisis ; August 8, 2022
- The British Dental Journal – Desperate times call for desperate dentistry ; January 26, 2024
