ANDREW ON 1,300-MILE DENTAL TRIP

Devon man heads to Midlands for treatment

A Devon man is travelling 1,300 miles for treatment from an NHS dentist.

Youth worker Andrew Guilder, 20, from Exmouth, is making the trek this month back to his home town of Loughborough to have root canal work carried out because he cannot find a dentist in the seaside town.

Mr Guilder, who works with the Exmouth Initiative in Education at Exmouth Community College, has had to take three days off on three consecutive weeks to travel to Leicestershire by coach.

The actual dentist's appointment lasts just half an hour.

However, Mr Guilder is spending between six and seven hours travelling each way by coach for the 430-mile round trip.

He decided to see his childhood dentist in Leicestershire because he has been unable to register with an NHS dentist in Exmouth since moving two years ago.

Two practices in the town have closed within the last 12 months, leaving 4,500 people without a dentist.

Last week, East Devon Primary Care Trust announced two dentists were being recruited for Exmouth Hospital. Four Polish dentists have also been confirmed for Exeter, together providing care for an extra 10,000 patients.

Mr Guilder was offered the opportunity to have a temporary filling carried out by an Exeter dentist - but the earliest he could get an appointment was August.

And the option of going private was too expensive for him. He is claiming income support because he works as a volunteer. The dental work is still going to cost him more than £100, including his bus fares.

He said:"It's been a bit of a nightmare really. My boss has been very nice in allowing me to have the time off to go back. But it's time that I have not been able to spend with the people I usually work with.

"It's disappointing. I have not been able to register with a dentist since I moved down. There's so many people who haven't got a dentist in Exmouth.

"A couple I am friends with in Exmouth have two young children who haven't seen a dentist at all."

Mr Guilder described his struggle to find an NHS dentist after experiencing pain in his teeth.

He said:"When I rang the emergency line and asked for a dentist, they practically laughed at me. They were talking about late August for a temporary filling and it was painful. I needed the work done and the only way I could see was by going back to Loughborough.

"I went to my old dentist and asked for three appointments and he just made them for me."

Source: Express and Echo - Click here to visit thisisexeter.co.uk