TOOTHLESS in England, the campaign demanding an NHS dentist for everyone, launched following the formation of a local volunteer group, Toothless in Suffolk, that Steve Marsling and I set up to highlight the need for the NHS to urgently find a replacement for the last remaining dental practice due to close in the rural town of Leiston, Suffolk. 

Half of the town’s residents had already been denied access to an NHS dentist the previous year following the closure of another practice.

The level of anger and frustration felt by the community on being abandoned in this way quickly became apparent when we held our first street stall in the middle of town, asking the public to sign a petition for the swift reinstatement of NHS dental services. 

Although we had publicised the event in the local press, we hadn’t quite prepared ourselves for what we witnessed on the day, nor indeed the days and weeks that followed.

While we were setting up our table, a queue had already formed. Members of the public told us how they felt about the closure and how they had been searching for an NHS dentist, but to no avail. 

By the time a local newspaper reporter turned up an hour later to interview and take photos, we had already collected hundreds of signatures and spoken to dozens upon dozens of local people.

One of the things which hit us hard that day — and neither of us will ever forget it — was hearing the stories of pain and suffering, physical as well as mental trauma, from not having ready access to an NHS dentist when emergency treatment was necessary. 

DIY dentistry was commonplace, extracting their own teeth using garage pliers, lancing their own abscesses with needles, overindulgent alcohol consumption just to numb the pain, overdosing on painkillers resulting in admissions to A&E. 

These were just a few of the stories we heard. It was Dickensian, but something that patients had clearly resorted to because they were at their wits’ end.

From the publicity that was generated that day, numerous messages from across the country, let alone Suffolk, all sharing similar stories were received on an almost daily basis. 

Along with local and national news media agencies requesting interviews, members joining our Toothless in Suffolk Facebook group grew exponentially, and interest from the public in establishing “Toothless” groups elsewhere also became a regular occurrence.

We are not in the middle of an emergency, but a dental crisis. It’s one that primarily affects the working class. 

Oral health inequalities were writ large in every local community, in every corner of the land, and we were the only ones prepared to voice the public’s cries for help outside of the plethora of Establishment voices and call out the NHS and the Westminster government.

Two years on from when the campaign launched and we have held numerous street stalls throughout the county, held a march and rally, lobbied Parliament, done countless TV, radio and newspaper interviews, held organisational meetings via Zoom and meetings with regional NHS England executives and local integrated care boards — and not forgetting the contributions, both written and in person, made to the House of Commons health and social care committee’s NHS dentistry inquiry this year. 

During that time Toothless in England has grown to be regarded, not just by patients but by the news media, the dental profession, and indeed parliamentarians, albeit from arm’s length, as a voice to be respected, one which isn’t looking to curry favour with anyone, but looks to ensure that the oral health needs of the country’s deserving public are met by putting patients first, just as they were 75 years ago.

In marking the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service earlier this year, the Toothless in England campaign press release stated: “75 years on from when it was born, NHS dentistry is in such a sorry state that it’s nearing the end-of-life cycle. But Westminster can, once more, prioritise the nation’s oral health and prevent it from reaching the point of no return. We will carry on fighting for an NHS dentist for everyone for as long as the public continues to support us.”

It’s been hard work but being a single-issue health campaign, it has given us the freedom to create a platform from which ordinary workers’ voices are amplified and taken seriously.

United, we will be heard. The fight for an NHS dentist for everyone will be won together!