Ex-miner who broke teeth in Blackpool 'thrilled' to get NHS dentist appointment after seven-month wait

David Creamer had been "living on painkillers and soup" while waiting for NHS treatment to fix a set of four crowns that snapped off his top jaw.

The 62-year-old, who worked at Silverwood Colliery for 17 years, broke them as he bit into a sandwich in Blackpool in June last year.

He'd been quoted £5,400 for private dental treatment, which he could not afford as he is surviving on benefits.

But after his plight hit the headlines last week, he has now been offered an NHS dentist in his hometown of Rotherham.

David said: "I'm very, very pleased. I’m going to celebrate by going out for a pint with my girlfriend.

"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."

David had just tucked into a sandwich while on holiday in the town when he felt a sharp pain in his gums as the four enamel tooth coverings came away.

He headed to an emergency dentist for vulnerable residents in Blackpool but said that the centre was "chock-a-block full of people" and he couldn't be seen.

He was prescribed co-codamol for the pain - which he now takes every four hours - and naproxen to reduce the swelling after visiting his GP

David also went to a local emergency dentist who told him he'd need some roots taken out and several of his teeth had shattered - but said they couldn't treat him.

In desperation he visited a private clinic in January this year which quoted him £5,400 for treatment.

He later joked he should have been a 'dentist' not a miner.

David said: "They x-rayed me, and they said, 'We could do the job here tomorrow… if you've got £5,400.'

"I said I've got about £6 in my account, and I'm on benefits. There's no way I can afford it. I'm almost 63, and have no savings whatsoever."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Access to dentistry is improving - last year 1.7 million more adults and some 800,000 more children saw an NHS dentist - and we have also announced plans to increase dental training places by 40%.

"We invest £3bn each year to deliver NHS dentistry and we are also taking preventative measures, such as expanding water fluoridation schemes to reduce the number of children experiencing tooth decay.

"We want every adult and child who needs an NHS dentist to get one regardless of where in England they live. We have already taken steps to improve access and incentivise practices to deliver more NHS dental care, and will set out new measures in our Dental Recovery Plan in due course."