30 January 2024 , 12:32
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A retired miner is “over-the-moon” after finally getting an NHS dental appointment following an agonising seven month wait - thanks to his favourite newspaper.
David Creamer, 62, who was forced onto a diet of prescription painkillers and soup during his agonising wait for an NHS dentist, said he couldn’t thank The Mirror enough. We featured David in our 'Dentists for all' campaign last week after he was quoted an eye-watering £5,400 for private treatment.
After we featured his plight, David was delighted to get a phone call from a dentist in his home town on Monday, inviting him for an appointment. David, who struggles surviving on benefits, said: “I would like to say a massive thanks to the Daily Mirror and their article. It will probably help lots of other people.
"We need the Daily Mirror to carry on such hard work in the face of this terrible disappearing government.”
He has been looking for seven months for an NHS dentist (Lee McLean / SWNS)
David lost several teeth after eating a sandwich in Blackpool (Lee McLean / SWNS)David, who worked for 17 years at Silverwood Colliery in South Yorkshire, was left in constant pain after a set of four crowns fell out while he was on holiday in Blackpool last June.
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He went to an emergency dentist in the seaside resort but said it was chock-a-block and he could not be seen. He saw his GP when he returned home to Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and was prescribed strong co-codamol painkillers, which he takes every four hours, as well as the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen.
David, who said he would be celebrating the news by going for a pint in his local pub with his girlfriend, said: “I’m very, very pleased. It all just came out of the blue. The call came from a dentist in Rotherham called Ivy Cottage Dental Care. I still don’t know how they got hold of me.
“They said, ‘We’ve been told to offer you an appointment’. I arranged the assessment for next Thursday. For months I’ve been in agony, but all of a sudden I’ve been accepted. It’s obviously pressure from the Daily Mirror.”
Mr Creamer said he was "over the moon" that he had now been offered an appointment and would finally be free from pain, but "disgusted" and "astounded" that he had to go to the media first.
Meanwhile, a large survey has found a quarter of adults have delayed dental care or treatment because of the cost. One in three also said the cost of dentistry has affected the type of care or treatment they go on to have.
The poll included 6,343 responses from 4,429 households in England and was commissioned by the Government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Overall, 66% of of people said they had very good or good oral health, 26% said it was fair and 7% said it was bad or very bad. Some 63% of people go to a dentist for regular check-ups, 15% go occasionally and 18% go only when they have trouble with their mouth, teeth or dentures.