This is one of the consequences of medical desertification in France. There are only 57 dentists per 100,000 inhabitants, far below the European average. Some are even forced to relieve their toothache themselves, under unacceptable conditions of suffering and hygiene.
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“My dentist closed his practice. Now there is no way to get an appointment. Luckily I'm not in pain, but a small problem can quickly become a big problem.” This resident of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, interviewed by TF1, is anything but an isolated case. Charente-Maritime is a department particularly affected by the shortage of dentists, like Sarthe, Mayenne, Calvados… In some rural areas of France there are only five dentists per 100,000 inhabitants. Nationwide, things look a little better: 57 dentists per 100,000 inhabitants. But it is 20% less than the European average.
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Medical deserts: Increasing inequalities in access to a doctor or dentist
“Due to the waiting period of six or seven months, we can no longer accept new patients, because the more new patients we accept, the more people have to wait. We would have three more doctors, that would not be a luxury,” he summarizes, in the TF1 report at the top of this article, Doctor Florie Duranteau, dentist in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. As patients admit, the medical desert requires several hours of driving to get to their appointment.
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United Kingdom: They are pulling their teeth because they have difficulty accessing healthcare
In desperation, some French people resort to pulling their own teeth, as in the UK. “I was at my construction site, my tooth hurt so much that I took a pair of pliers, disinfected them with boiling water, rubbed my hands with a hydroalcoholic product, I got into my van, facing the rearview mirror and… Tac! “, a building painter from Perros-Guirec confided to RTL this Thursday. Among other testimonies of the same order.
A “very, very serious risk”
A phenomenon linked to the proliferation of questionable tutorials on the Internet. But be careful, self-medication can quickly lead to self-harm. “If you pull a tooth, you risk septicemia, which is the spread of your germs throughout your body. This is a very, very serious risk of general infection of the body,” warns Doctor Nicolas-Boutin, a professional dentist. in front of the TF1 camera. In an emergency, if your dentist is not available, call 15 instead, who can direct you to a hospital with an emergency dental service if necessary. There are about twenty in France.
Hamza HIZZIR | TF1 report Yann Hovine, Erwan Braem, William Wuillemin