Some of With You’s clients, who are in drug and alcohol recovery, were experiencing severe pain from oral health problems caused by prolonged substance abuse. For these clients, pain became an obstacle in their recovery journeys.
With you and North Somerset Council they have joined forces to deliver an innovative solution. Ringfenced Council funding to improve drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services was used to help the nine clients who were in urgent need of dental care.
Over the course of eight months, the nine clients visited Dental Spa 25 in Weston-super-Mare. This vital oral health treatment included antibiotics for abscesses and infections, tooth extractions and root canals. Some of these clients have now completed their treatment and others are in the final stages of receiving their dental work.
Councilor Jenna Ho Marris, North Somerset Council’s executive member for public health, said: “It is known that people who use drugs or alcohol are more likely to experience oral health problems. This has to do with your mouth, teeth and gums, so it affects the way you eat, breathe and speak. These issues had a significant negative impact on people’s physical and mental health and prevented them from getting the treatment they wanted and needed. In some cases, it led to increased drug use to self-manage the extreme pain they were experiencing.
“I am delighted that we have been able to support these people to continue their recovery journey. The results exceeded what we had hoped to achieve. In addition to preventing people from returning to using drugs or alcohol to self-medicate, it is humbling to know that a relatively simple intervention may have helped save someone’s life.”
Tracy*, who started drinking aged 15 to cope with trauma in a previous life – being abused by her stepfather and beaten by her mother – said: “I was drinking a lot of red wine and about ten years ago , all my gums were swollen. I went to a dentist and was told I had gum disease, caused by alcohol consumption and malnutrition. He told me that all my teeth would fall out, so I started drinking more. It took me to a dark place.
“But then I found with you. I started a 12 week program and it got me sober. Then, about two years ago, some of my teeth started to loosen and fall out. My gums were bleeding and I had abscesses – it was so painful.
“Six teeth fell out within a year and a half. It looked awful. I knew I didn’t want to live like this and at some point my mind went to suicide. It’s really hard because when you’re sober for months and then your teeth fall out, it really affects your mental health.”
“I tried to find a dentist – I called everywhere but nowhere was taking new NHS patients and I couldn’t afford the job. I had almost given up hope, but then almost out of the blue, through the project, I was given a set of dentures.
“If it wasn’t for the dentures I would still be drinking, I know I would because I couldn’t deal with not having teeth, it’s so traumatic to lose them. You go out and smile and talk to people, but it’s so hard when people are staring at you. For me, this dental work saved my life.
Gill Flanagan, Service Manager at With You in North Somerset, said: “Many of the people we work with have trauma in their lives and use drugs or alcohol as a tool to cope with the pain, loss and grief I have experienced .
“At With You, we support people to deal with this trauma in their own way so they can start their drug and alcohol recovery journeys. But as our clients began to reduce or stop using drugs or alcohol, they told us that dental pain was holding them back from where they wanted to be in their recovery. So we knew that if we were going to better support our customers, we had to find a way to address their oral health issues.”
Josh*, another client who has benefited from the dental work explains more. She says: “I was sexually assaulted by someone I was renting a room from many years ago. I didn’t go to the police, but I started using heroin.
“A few years later, I was arrested for drug use and went to rehab for three months. I knew I wanted to change my life.
“But I had seven teeth that were causing me a lot of pain. Being an opiate addict, I can’t take painkillers stronger than paracetamol, which only goes so far. I used to self-medicate with heroin because of how bad my tooth pain was, and after cleaning, there were times when I thought “I could do with a bag of heroin right now just to ease the pain”.
“I tried going to an NHS dentist but none are taking new patients and the waiting lists are so long. And living on benefits, it is impossible for me to pay for private dental care.
“But then I was told that some funding had been found to do the dental work I needed. Since then, I have had several root canals and there has been a real lack of pain. I am so, so grateful.”
With You provides drug and alcohol treatment services to 1,000 adults across North Somerset and runs a range of recovery-focused services, including focus groups and post-treatment checks. To access their services or find out more, call 01934 427940 or visit their website: www.wearewithyou.org.uk.
*Tracy and Josh are not the customers’ real names. Names have been changed to protect anonymity.
