80% of NHS dentists in England have refused to take on new adult patients, a survey has revealed.

Figures released yesterday by Labour found 54% of surgeries aren't accepting any new patients.

82% are refusing to take on adults and 71% aren't taking on children as patients any more

-

Dad-of-one George Glinos, 68, pulled out 11 of his own teeth with pliers when he couldn't get a dentist appointment.

He says he 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 and so he dealt with a gum infection by pulling out infected teeth with pliers, last year.

He eventually managed to get an emergency dentist appointment, but said as he has no loose or infected teeth it didn't achieve anything.

George, from Childwall, Liverpool, cannot afford private dental care as he is on a state pension.

He says NHS England told him to call 111.

George said: "I'm at my wits' end.

"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.

"It makes my gums sore.

"If I eat with my daughter and grandson, I get left on the table.

"Most of the time I just don't finish it so I'm hungry all the time.

"If this bottom tooth goes I'll be on baby food.

"I'm not in a position of being able to afford implants.

"If they took the teeth out I'd have no teeth for several months.

"It just keeps on going."

-

Richard Howe, 58, was forced to travel to war-torn Ukraine for dental treatment - after he failed to get an appointment with the NHS.

He developed an abscess under his tooth last month, which was causing him severe discomfort.

He called his local NHS dentist to book an appointment, but he was not registered, and was told he'd have to go private to be seen - at considerable cost.

So, Richard decided to travel to Kyiv, where he lived before the war, to get the work done at his old dental practice.

And it was HALF the price quoted in the UK, including travel costs.

Dad-of-three Richard, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, said: "I was in loads of pain, but I was told outright there was no chance of me getting an appointment with the NHS.

"So, I got one in Ukraine, straight away, for a fraction of the cost. It just shows how much of a mess NHS dental care is over here right now."

Richard, whose wife is Ukrainian, grew frustrated after being fobbed off by his local NHS dentist.

The quote to have his abscess removed privately was a minimum of £875, plus a £75 emergency fee.

Richard spent 12 years living in Kiev with his wife and family and returned back to the UK a month before Putin's brutal invasion.