Local woman pulls out own teeth amid NHS crisis
By Laura Linham 23rd Oct 2025
A local woman was forced to pull out two of her own teeth due to the shocking lack of NHS dental care in Somerset.
The grim revelation was made in Parliament on Wednesday, 23 October 2025, as Glastonbury & Somerton MP Sarah Dyke challenged the Prime Minister over the "dental desert" facing her constituents.
The Liberal Democrat MP said many people in the area were suffering in agony, driven to extreme measures or spiralling into debt to pay for private treatment.
"Jennifer extracted two of her own teeth," Ms Dyke told the House of Commons. "Many in Glastonbury and Somerton are forced to travel hundreds of miles to see an NHS dentist, or suffer in agony, or fall into debt to pay for private treatment, or to resort to DIY dentistry."
She demanded immediate action, warning that people in Somerset could not wait for a drawn-out consultation on fixing the "broken" NHS dental contract.
Ms Dyke has written to the Health Minister and is working with Somerset's Integrated Care Board on emergency fixes such as mobile dental units. She's also backing her party's call for a Dental Rescue Package to bring dentists back into NHS work and guarantee emergency care for all.
The Department of Health has yet to confirm what specific steps will be taken in Somerset.
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