Bury St Edmunds mum Danielle Watts says dentures will be 'life-changing' as work starts to get her teeth
The ‘poster girl’ of the NHS dental crisis in Suffolk has spoken of how ‘overwhelming’ it will be to finally have teeth in her mouth again following fundraising success.
Danielle Watts, 43, from Bury St Edmunds, made headlines when she went public about removing several of her own teeth after being unable to find an NHS dentist following the closure of her practice.
The mother of two has endured painful, chronic mouth infections and her gums receeded to the point where her teeth would ‘just come out’.
She was also seriously ill in hospital over the summer with puss in the lining of her left lung, which the consultant told her was associated ‘with the state of my mouth’.
Cllr Katie Parker launched a fundraising campaign to help get Danielle some dentures. This has managed to raise about £700 through the Go Fund Me page and £800 from an anonymous donor. Combined with an anonymous donation of £1,000 from a church, there is enough for the removal of eight teeth and the fitting of dentures.
Danielle, who previously took out 12 teeth herself, had the first four teeth removed at {my}dentist in Risbygate Street, Bury, yesterday.
She said the dental work would be ‘life-changing’, adding having the teeth in her mouth would probably be ‘extremely overwhelming’.
She said: “It’s probably going to take me a long time not being paranoid about talking to people, even people I know, people at work.”
She said she was looking forward to ‘not having people looking at me like I’m a freak’, being able to go on a date and ‘just being able to have a straight smile’. She added that currently she smiles with her mouth shut and tries to ‘cover my laugh’.
Danielle, who works for a printing company, will also be able to eat and talk more easily with dentures.
On the fundraising, she said: “It is absolutely amazing, from the anonymous person from my past to complete strangers helping. I don't think it's quite hit me.”
Cllr Parker, who met Danielle for the first time at a Dentaid clinic in Bury, said: “I just wanted to help give something back. I wanted to do something nice for her.”
