Sudbury Dentaid patients describe tooth 'agony' as charity clinic sees people queuing for hours to be seen

Residents from in and around Sudbury have spoken of their frustration at a lack of NHS provision in the area as they queued for hours to visit a pop-up dental charity clinic.

Dentaid, which typically provides free dental care for homeless and vulnerable people and was set up to treat patients in Africa, came to St Gregory's Church in the town today.

Offering free dental care to residents with tooth pain who cannot access an NHS dentist, there were at least 40 people queuing for treatment before it opened its doors at 10am.

One such patient was mother-of-two Nicola Gossage who described experiencing 'absolute agony' for the past two years as one of her wisdom teeth cracked in half and she couldn't access an NHS dentist after being removed from their list.

"Its the fact that they take you off the register so quickly and without warning," she said.

"I've got two children to look after and it is absolute agony for me."

Ms Gossage, who had been waiting in the line since 9.15am and was thirteenth in the queue, said she has also struggled to get appointments for her children, the youngest of which is almost six and has not been seen by a dentist since the age of two.

"This sort of thing shouldn't be happening in this country - it's just not fair," she said.

Another visitor to the pop-up clinic was Ann Glass who moved to Glemsford from Essex and couldn't find an NHS dentist taking on patients.

She was seeking treatment after part of a crown on her tooth fell out and she pulled off the front of it herself as she was in so much pain.

"I am in pain 24/7 and it's got progressively worse - I live off of Nurofen and Paracetamol," she said.

"I think it is brilliant what they're doing here. I didn't know anything like this existed before I saw it on the internet."

And Tony Petterson of Cornard, who had been queuing since around 9.15am, said: "There is a clear lack of dentists in this town. There are people who are unable to attend a private dentist for some reason or other so not having NHS dentists in the area is just awful."

This was Dentaid's fifth visit to Suffolk, having previously stopped in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill.

Suffolk county councillor Jessie Carter, who helped fund the visit along with grants from Sudbury Town Council and two Babergh district councillors, said she had around 20 phone calls yesterday from residents who wanted to be seen.

"It is a real shame that this needs to be here, but it is amazing that they are here," Cllr Carter said.

"I have heard of children with broken teeth but no dentist will see them. I've heard of people pharmacy hopping because they are in so much pain and need painkillers.

"We need more dentists - after Brexit we lost an extortionate amount of dentists and no one has filled that gap and we're now paying the price for it," she added.

Andy Evans, CEO of the charity which has been running for 26 years, said: "We're coming in to help in the crisis with the hope that the NHS will see the need and step in."

There are four dentists volunteering at the clinic today, which is open until 4pm.

To be eligible for treatment at the Dentaid clinic in Sudbury, you must live in the area and have no other means of accessing dental care.

Due to the expected level of demand, attendees are advised to wrap up warm and bring food and drink, in case of a long queue.