A man left with no teeth after being unable to find an NHS dentist for over two years is now facing a £40k bill to have them fixed. The 35-year-old started losing teeth six years ago and can now only eat pureed food.
Aleksandar Stoilov, a student from Bristol, was placed on the waiting list for an NHS dentist two years ago but has yet to be seen. Without a referral from a dentist, he was also unable to visit a dental hospital despite all of his teeth snapping off at the gum, the Mirror reports.
Desperate to get answers about why his teeth are so fragile - breaking even when he ate a soft piece of bread - Aleksander flew back to his home country of Bulgaria to see a professional. Unfortunately they were stumped by the “mystery” problem and unable to help.
Now Aleksander survives off a diet of soft foods that his wife, Patrycja Dwojacka, 34, blends for him. He lives with his wife, a maternity care assistant, and their two children Tara, 10, and Kaspian, eight.
Aleksandar said: "They said it was a kind of mystery, but it could just be stress - or it could be a result of an antibiotic that was used on me as a newborn, it was later shown to weaken teeth. When I was a baby it was a common thing to be used, I've been given it.
"Right now I have almost no teeth, I'm living without them as I can't afford to get them fixed in the UK. They want me to pay £35,000 - they have to extract the roots from the jaw, but they could get infected and if I have them removed and not replaced then I lose some of the jaw bone.
"I already have one point where the jaw bone is disappearing - to have them all extracted will cost £5,000. It's ridiculous, I can't afford that - I don't know who can, but I need to get them removed as soon as possible because there are health issues coming from them being there."
The problems with Aleksander’s teeth started around six years ago when they began breaking off as he ate. Up until then he had no problems with his teeth and had always taken good care of his mouth.
He continued: "Everything started around six years ago, in general, I didn't have any problems with my mouth - just normal cavities here or there. I needed a few fillings, just normal problems like everyone else - then my teeth started to snap.
"When the first one snapped I was shocked because I didn't expect it, I was eating some bread and it just broke - it was a horrible feeling. For three weeks they kept breaking, at least ten of them. It took five years for them all to break.
"It wasn't painful at all, it's just when I was eating I would feel the crack and that was it. They broke very close to the gum, for something like two to three weeks a lot of teeth just broke. There was no blood, either.
"One day I lost two teeth from just eating. I'm not talking about eating anything hard, it was just normal food."
Aleksander had to give up eating normal food as even soft foods were causing more to break. Patrycja resorted to blending food for Aleksander - including a bucket of KFC chicken.
He continued: "I can't eat at all, I'm eating mashed potatoes and very soft meatballs that my wife is preparing for me. This is because my last tooth broke a couple of days ago - I have no teeth, I cannot chew. I haven't been able to for years.
"I had blended KFC, that happened the day when I had my tooth broken. I broke it because I wanted to try the fried chicken but I was still hungry so my wife blended it so I could taste it - it wasn't worth it, it was disgusting and very salty.
"I can't take eating blended food, it's disgusting - it's horrible. It's a bad feeling, I don't like the texture. My wife, she's upset about it but she knew when we met that I have a problem with my teeth and she's supportive - she does whatever she can to make my life easier.
"It would have been impossible to date without teeth, if I wasn't married. I don't communicate or socialise with people anymore - not at all. I only talk to my wife and my kids. At work, I'm trying to move my head aside and that's it.
"It's very difficult, from there of course anxiety started to hit me so I'm suffering with that - for the past two years now. A little while ago I had a week of panic attacks and anxiety, I'm not saying that's coming because of the teeth, it's just stress about everything.
"This is my last year in university, how am I going to go to an interview without teeth? My dream is to be a magazine or newspaper photographer and you have to interact with people.
"I also have a problem with my digestion system, because I cannot chew really I have to swallow bigger pieces and that's caused issues. It's a nightmare, I don't know what to say really - it's a sad story, I used to have good teeth."
Aleksander has spoken to a dentist back home to get a cheaper quote, and he's found a way to solve the problem for £10,000. He is now trying to raise those funds through GoFundMe and says he has “no other option”.
He said: "In my country, there is a very famous dental clinic where British people go because it's cheaper. I contacted them two years ago and they quoted me £10,000 to do all the work - constructing teeth, reconstruction of the jaw, all the implants and everything - that's why I'm trying to raise £10,000 online."
The student’s family has also felt the effects of Aleksander's situation as they feel helpless to his plight. His wife Patrycja said: "It's a very difficult situation in general because the quality of life and quality of certain things that he can eat is limited, I know some people can say you can cook soft foods and all that but if you don't have a taste for that then there's a problem.
"We eat pizza, me and the kids, but it's too hard for Aleksandar to chew. Or any crispy stuff, or nuts, even though we tried to blend food so there's a little bit of taste, but it's not good.
Have you faced an issue getting an NHS dentist? Email john.bett@reachplc.com
