Analysis of Google Trends data by anti-poverty charity Church On The Street reveals that searches for ‘tooth pain’ have increased by a staggering 500% in the UK since June 2010, the year the Coalition government took power. The British Dentistry Association (BDA) reports that, since 2010, NHS dentistry has seen real cuts of £1bn, leaving many patients unable to access NHS dentists and resorting to pulling out their own teeth or sticking them in with superglue.
The research revealed that, in June 2024, searches for ‘tooth pain’ were seven times the volume that they were in June 2010, according to Google search data analysis. The data also found that searches for “how to remove teeth” have increased 446 percent % since June 2010.
Pastor Mick Fleming, founder of Church On The Street, which supports people through chronic poverty, homelessness and drug addiction, sees the effects of a lack of NHS dentistry on families every day. He commented: “Access to affordable dental care should be a basic human right, and yet people all over the UK are suffering the indignity and pain of relentless toothache or resorting to DIY dentistry, which is very dangerous. This data shows just how serious the dental crisis has become after a decade of cuts, and it is truly concerning that we are living in a country where people are now searching how to pull out their own teeth, due to being unable to afford private care, or find an NHS dentist.”
