A man who has been unable to find a NHS dentist claims he has been forced to wear dentures belonging to a dead man.
Matt Bonnell has been trying to get his top denture fixed for 18 months but has been refused treatment by 20 NHS dentist clinics, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 53-year-old is entitled to free dental care as part of his Universal Credit aid, and feels he cannot afford to go private.
The landscape gardener has now resorted to wearing the teeth of an elderly patient he met in hospital, while visiting his mother.
The old man offered his teeth after Matt told him about his dentistry struggles, and when he died a few days later, the man’s wife gave Matt permission to take the dentures.
Matt said he had disinfected them and filed them down to make them fit before beginning to use them as his own.
Matt said it felt like discrimination; he couldn’t get free dental care because of Covid, yet it was available for those who were able to pay for it.
"I've been trying to get my top denture fixed for 18 months, but every dentist says they're not taking on new patients because of coronavirus,” he said.
Matt, from Preston, Lancashire, got his first full upper denture at 42 years old after a push-bike accident.
Although his top denture broke around four years ago, the real problems began when they snapped into even more pieces around 18 months ago.
"I managed at first because I could keep the pieces in my mouth as there was still suction despite them being broken,” he explained.
"But I was eating a peanut one day and it broke again, and then I lost a piece.
"Now I only have one piece left which has about five teeth on it, and I've been using that to stop my face from collapsing."
Matt said he has experienced self-esteem issues as a result, and is unable to smile without covering his mouth. He struggled to eat or drink in front of people as he dribbled, he said.
"I take pride in my appearance and I've always taken care of myself, but this makes me feel ugly."
Matt said he will be forever grateful to the lady who donated her husband's dentures, but never got her name or address to properly thank her.
He added: "The fact her husband was dying and she still had the thought of helping me made me cry.
"I'm kicking myself that I never got her name or address.
A spokesman for NHS England said dentistry has been "extremely challenged throughout the pandemic."
"Dental commissioners across the North West are working with Local Dental Committees, dental networks and practices to monitor the safe restoration of services,” he added.
"We are working with this patient to ensure they get the treatment they require."
