Hartlepool Patient Told To Wait 2 Years For Dental Treatment

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A woman from Hartlepool has been told she may have to wait until 2014 for dental treatment despite the fact that her teeth are crumbling and she has already been on a waiting list for more than two years.

Pamela Fisher says that her teeth are crumbling because of medication she takes for severe eczema and asthma and the situation has got so bad that she is restricted to soft foods and liquids and fears that her teeth may break if she tries to eat other foods.

Pamela was referred to the community dental service, One Life Centre after seeing her local dentist a number of times and after seeing a dentist at the centre she was told that she would have treatment to have almost all of her natural teeth removed at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Pamela was recently informed that she may have to wait until 2014 for surgery because she is currently 16th on the waiting list and only one dental procedure is carried out per month.

Pamela said that she does not want to skip the queue, but she has got to the point where she is afraid of smiling or opening her mouth around other people and she is eating soup and bread everyday; she said that her teeth have got worse since she joined the waiting list two and a half years ago and by the time she has treatment they will all have to be extracted. Pamela said that she expected a wait of around 18 months, but described waiting three and a half years as “ridiculous.”

A spokeswoman for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust said that in certain cases when a patient is ill or they are taking medication it can take a longer time to assess their suitability for surgery; she added that she was sorry that Pamela was disappointed with the waiting time and said that the trust was communicating with her to try and sort out the situation.

 

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