Liverpool grandfather pulled his teeth out with pliers due to lack of NHS dentist access

A grandfather from Liverpool pulled out 11 of his own teeth with pliers after he couldn’t find an NHS dentist.

Dad-of-one George Glinos, 67, mostly lives on soup due to having only one incisor on his bottom jaw, and four “stubs” on his top jaw.

George, a retired builder, gave up his old dentist four years ago as he was unhappy with the practitioner. He was unable to find another practice, so he took a gum infection into his own hands - by pulling out infected teeth with plyers.

He will spend Christmas Day watching his family enjoy Christmas dinner and says it takes between two to four hours to eat a meal.

George went to an emergency dentist appointment on Wednesday December 22, but said as he has no loose or infected teeth it didn’t achieve anything.

Mr Glinos told SWNS: “I’m at my wits’ end. I went to an emergency appointment yesterday to fix loose or painful teeth.I don’t have any teeth, and I need teeth.

“They just list all the things they can’t do. I have one tooth on my bottom jaw, an incisor, and on my top jaw, four stumps which were filed down for caps.

“It takes four hours to eat a meal, or a minimum of two hours. If I eat too fast I swallow big lumps and it makes my gums sore. If this bottom tooth goes I’ll be on baby food.”

George, from Childwall, cannot afford private dental care as he is on a state pension and says NHS England told him to call 111.

George expressed that 111 can’t offer him help as he doesn’t need an emergency dentist and he is concerned that if his remaining teeth were taken out he’d be unable to afford implant replacements or dentures.

He added: “Everything is so much harder due to covid.”