posted 09-28-2004 07:17 AM                       

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A desparate man pulled his own teeth out with rusty pliers - because he couldn't find an NHS dentist. George Daulat, 47, from Scarborough, had severe toothache but could not get treatment. He carried out the DIY dentistry - with half-a-litre of vodka as anaesthetic - two weeks ago. Since then infection has set in, causing unrelenting pain.

Unemployed Mr Daulat said: 'It was the hardest and most horrible thing I have ever done, but I was desperate. I had a pair of pliers - they were old and a bit rusty, but I knew they would do the job.'

'I bought a bottle of vodka because there was no way I could have done it sober. I thought it would dull the pain - but I was so wrong. It was agonising.'

Mr Daulat managed to extract three teeth but a fourth would not budge. 'I was drunk, and when I woke up in the morning and saw the blood I thought I'd severed an artery,' he said. 'Things feel a bit better now, but I am still searching for a dentist, because the fourth tooth needs to be removed properly.'

Scarborough's emergency NHS dental surgery, Northway Clinic, could not treat Mr Daulat the day he pulled his teeth out because he did not phone early enough. John Carney, clinical lead at Northway, said he was shocked by the incident. He said: 'If Mr Daulat had rung here at 8.30am he would have had an appointment that day. It's as simple as that.'

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