The seven-year wait for a dentist: why Linda Colla pulled out her own teeth

In chronic pain, unable to find an NHS practice and priced out of private care, Colla – like millions of Britons – felt she had no choice but to take matters into her own hands

Linda Colla holds an imaginary tooth between her forefinger and thumb and pulls it. Then she adds some rotation. Extracting her own teeth required wiggling and twisting, she explains. “It took me a couple of weeks to get each one out, because they just loosened and loosened and loosened. I used a tissue to get a better grip.”

We meet in her bungalow near Ottery St Mary in Devon, which she shares with her labrador, Cleo, and her jack russell, Josie. Before our meeting, she told me over the phone that she had kept the yanked teeth. I ask to see them. She disappears and returns with a small box. “They’re a bit grim‑looking now, because they’ve been out for a while.”

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