– I can’t smile at the customers. I can’t look them in the eye. It doesn’t work. Leslie Medhurst (46) sits in a dentist’s chair. And life can turn around in this chair. – I worked in a hardware store. I lost my job. This means everything to me. He cannot believe that he has just sat in a waiting room at the dentist. The last time was in 1992. Over thirty years. – It started with a bad experience at the dentist. She was too tough, he says. He was terrified of dentists. And gradually the economy got worse. The food on the plate became softer, the road to the dentist longer. And the teeth fewer. – I’ve eaten a lot of ice cream, says Leslie. – Heartbreaking to see – It is heartbreaking, says Igor Salai at Dental Norway. – That someone has such an everyday life as Leslie, and cannot afford the necessary treatment. The office notices that patients do not show up. – More and more people say they can’t afford it. Some postpone necessary treatment, others choose cheaper solutions than what is professionally sound, says Salai. The dental chain came into contact with the organization Help us to help in Kristiansand. OFFER HELP: – There is a reality that was darker than we were aware of, says Igor Salai in Dental Norway. He asks the politicians to realize the seriousness. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news As a mini private/volunteer-run dental health service – in the middle of the welfare state of Norway – the most needy are referred from the organisation. The dentists stand up – and pick up the bill that the public does not want to see. According to the chain, the framework is set for services worth NOK 2 million from offices in Kristiansand, Grimstad and Sandnes. – The children come first With the increase in prices, even more people have had trouble paying for a dentist, according to actors in Frivillighets-Norge that news has spoken to. REFER: – A lady smelled so bad from her mouth that we couldn’t sit next to her. Two have been diagnosed with dental diseases. I hope this initiative spreads in Norway. But the public sector should take responsibility, believes Elisabeth Thorsen in Hjelp oss och hæver. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news Elisabeth Thorsen notices this at Hjelp oss å hæft in Kristiansand. – In recent years, we see more and more people who are sad. They can’t smile, they have problems with their teeth. It can smell bad. And they themselves say that they cannot afford a dentist. Thorsen believes it has increased after the pandemic. – Some have children and prioritize helping them, and put their own health last. With the teeth it quickly becomes quite serious. It destroys self-confidence. And it can be difficult to get a job. SETTING THE LINE: On a stormy Monday in March, 129 people turned up and asked for assistance from Help us to help in Kristiansand. Many of them put dentists a little lower on the list. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news – Those who don’t have – In these times, there are many more people than before who have major problems paying for absolutely necessary health services, says general manager Dag Nordbø of the Church’s City Mission in Kristiansand. He also says that people at work are struggling, we are in a completely new situation. – The differences have become even clearer than before. Between those who have – and those who have not, he believes. GOING SLOW: – I think the politicians have discovered the problem, but the solutions are taking far too long, says Dag Nordbø in the Church’s Bymission. Photo: Sander Heggheim / news The Salvation Army says that in some cases they pay dentists for individuals. – We now see that some people push away a number of necessary things to pay for houses, food and electricity. Dental health is among the things that end up lower on the list, says Bjørn Andersen in the Salvation Army in Kristiansand. Only for examination The Norwegian Dental Association believes that people generally visit the dentist as before. – But we hear that for some patients it stops after an examination. They don’t afford the treatment itself, says president Heming Olsen-Bergem. He thinks it is commendable that someone gives free help. – BANKRUPTCY: – Free effort is a declaration of bankruptcy for the system, says Heming Olsen-Bergem of the Dental Association. Photo: KRISTIN AKSNES / Tannlegeforeningens Tidende – It is positive. But it is a declaration of bankruptcy. It shows that we should do something about the system. And that is constantly being pointed out to the politicians, says Olsen-Bergem. Manager and dentist Eirik Aasland Salvesen in the country’s largest dental chain – Oris Dental – believes that patients still prioritize their own health, including their teeth. – We don’t really notice that people postpone or drop lessons to a greater extent than usual. But there is room to improve the current system. – Are we managing to take good enough care of those who come off the worst? – No, we don’t have good enough support schemes for them, says Aasland Salvesen. THE RESCUE: Jannicke Tønnesland and Leslie Medhurst are among the first to receive dental care. – As a single mother and on disability benefits, I have not been able to go to the dentist, says Tønnesland. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news Regulation under the microscope Should the public take greater responsibility for your teeth? The Dental Health Committee is currently working on the question. The committee will give an answer next year and is now surveying how we use dental health services. – We see that the Dental Health Act prioritizes a number of disease groups, but not the financial situation. This will be one of the challenges for the committee, says leader Evy-Anni Evensen. ASSIGNMENT: Evy-Anni Evensen and the Dental Health Committee must provide an answer by June 2024. Photo: Anne Lognvik The public dental health service today provides free help to priority groups, anchored in the Dental Health Services Act from the 1980s. This includes children and young people under the age of 18, the mentally disabled, people with municipal home services and institutional services – and others whom the county council has decided to prioritize. In addition, discounts are given to the dentist for 19-26-year-olds. HAPPY: – I hope my story can help others in the same situation, says Leslie Medhurst, who despite fear of dentists and poor finances finally dares to hope that life can turn around. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news The family pictures Behind bright blinds at a dentist’s office in Kristiansand, dentist Tina Søndbø explains to Leslie Medhurst what needs to be done. It is not small. In the upper jaw, most of what is left must be removed. – And we have to make new teeth. You should get a mouth you can smile with, she says. The man in the chair explains that everyday life is a struggle to hide the teeth. – I try to make eye contact with people. But their gaze falls. Against my teeth. The dream up there is starting to take shape. – Imagine if one day I can smile again. I don’t need to hide in family photos. Hello! I am the one who wrote this case. I would like to hear from you if you have input on this or other matters.
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Was at the dentist for the last time in 1992
