A Hull mum struggling with pain from her teeth and “unable to eat” says she has faced a “ridiculous” battle trying to find an NHS dentist to treat her.

Elaine Moxon, of North Hull, was an NHS patient with a local practice for over 20 years until her dentist left last year. She said: “It has left us in the lurch.

“I’ve had to go to the emergency dentist because one of my teeth broke in half. They’ve put a temporary filling in there for now and it cost £28 to have that done, which was at the start of this year.

“In the meantime I have a wisdom tooth in my bottom jaw that’s painful and I can’t eat on that side at all. I’ve started not being able to eat on the other side because of another broken tooth.

“I’ve phoned up everywhere for an NHS dentist but there are more private dentists than NHS ones in Hull. The only one I’ve managed to get in with has an appointment for April 27, 2027, but I’m so desperate for an appointment now.”

Elaine said she and her husband, John – “fortunately he seems to have pretty good teeth” – as well as their daughter, Emma, were all in the same situation. “I have two little grandchildren aged four and just over one and my daughter has managed to get them into an NHS dentist in October, but not herself.”

The mum said she had tried calling numerous practices. “They are all very sympathetic but they all have waiting lists.

“They will take your name but they don’t know when you will get called up.” Elaine said: “I can’t afford to go private.

“I work full-time as a cleaner – I work from 7am to 3.45pm – it’s something I’ve done all my life and I’ve sometimes worked late shifts, from 10pm to 2am, but it doesn’t pay the kind of wages that you need for a private dentist. I am looking at my Facebook page and all you see is pop-ups for full dental implants and private practices and that’s all very well if you can afford them.

“It’s ridiculous that there are not more NHS dentists in Hull. It’s not as though my old practice hasn’t been advertising for a new dentist; they have, but no one wants to go.”

A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said: “We understand patients’ frustrations with the provision of NHS dental services and are committed to improving access to NHS dentists for people living in Hull and the wider region. We are currently running a ‘golden hello’ scheme to support dental practices recruit more NHS dentists and we have taken steps to increase the numbers of urgent NHS dental appointments available in the city.

“Patients with an urgent need should contact NHS 111. People can also check the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/find-a-dentist to find details of practices accepting new NHS patients.

“When NHS dentistry commissioning became the responsibility of ICBs we inherited a difficult position in Humber and North Yorkshire, but we have been working hard with our partners and the dental community to try and maintain stability at a time when we know NHS dental practices continue to raise concerns over the national funding model. We continue to be part of ongoing conversations nationally on proposals for the NHS dental contract.”

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