English 'pull own teeth' as dental service decays...

Well, this isn't exactly a stunning endorsement for socialized medicine, is it..... But then again, they do have private dentists in England. Sure, here we have a couple of "free" or low cost clinics for the poor - but if you are middle class, you have to pay a great deal if you have aged teeth or problems. This is even IF you have insurance. I can attest to that personally!

With something like dentistry, it would always be good to have choices. Perhaps it is good to have some dentists over there taking the government insurance - as long as there are still private dentists. It shouldn't be that hard to at least provide a safety net. Gingivitis can lead to many other problems such as heart disease. When I realized this, I finally got down to business in maintaining my teeth. While I wouldn't expect the government to pay for restorative services, cleanings and even most basic extractions are not that expensive. A person can go without a lot of teeth, but it is no good to have rotting ones in your head.

I tried to extract a tooth once... The results were not good and bone fragments were left behind. So, I ended up going to the dentist anyway, to get everything out. Fortunately, he did not chew me out too bad!!!