A MUM says she faces an agonising two-year wait to have two infected teeth extracted because her dentist cannot pull them due to her needle phobia.
Andrea Anderson, 51, told how she is suffering extreme pain daily, is living off scrambled eggs and mushrooms and has pus dripping from her nose but must endure long delays for specialist treatment.
Andrea Anderson has been left in agony Credit: Michael Schofield
Her needle phobia has stopped her having infected teeth removed Credit: Alamy
She claims she is unable to have the canine and molar yanked at her local practice because she is terrified of numbing injections.
Andrea says she has been turned away at A&E and had four antibiotic courses in the last three months but is parked on the waiting list for the dental hospital in Edinburgh.
Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter
Thank you!
She told the Scottish Sun: “Every day I am in so much pain.
“I can’t do anything, I can’t go anywhere.
ARMY ASSIST
Scottish Government asks for military help to tackle Cairngorms wildfire
IN CUFFS
Fifteen arrested after ‘violent’ anti-immigration protest takes over Glasgow
“I go to work in a factory then spend the rest of my time in bed because sleeping is the only relief I get.
“My dentist used to give me gas instead of injections but they stopped that.
“I need knocked out but the dental hospital says it’ll take years to be seen.
“The pain is excruciating — I can’t go on like this.”
Most read in The Scottish Sun
Andrea says she has been turned away at A&E Credit: Michael Schofield
She developed an abscess around a canine tooth after a filling failed causing swelling and constant pain Credit: Michael Schofield
Andrea, from Broxburn, West Lothian, says she has been put on the waiting list for treatment just minutes from home at Edinburgh Dental Institute but it will take at least 110 weeks to be seen.
She revealed she developed an abscess around a canine tooth after a filling failed causing swelling and constant “10 out of 10” pain.
It has caused pus to leak from her left nostril because it has nowhere else to drain with antibiotics only offering temporary relief.
A tooth at the back of her mouth has also become infected.
Andrea is unable to take strong painkillers because opioids found in tablets like cocodamol make her sick.
She has already been waiting almost a year to be seen but says it could take at least 70 more weeks before an appointment is available.
Andrea says she needs to be “knocked out” before the teeth can be extracted because she has a paralysing fear of needles and her surgery has stopped using nitrous oxide gas sedation.
She says the torment has caused her to miss work at her job at a peanuts packing plant.
Andrea added: “I’ve been eating only soft food — mushrooms, soup, yoghurt and bananas.
“I don’t like eggs but I’ve been forcing myself to have them because it’s one of the only things I can manage and have almost a stone in weight.
“My brother took me to casualty but they said there was nothing they could do because they don’t have dental facilities.
“My GP and dentist have been doing what they can but I keep being told I am on the waiting list and it wouldn’t be fair if I got seen more quickly.
“I’ve paid into the system my whole life and never taken a penny back, it just seems so unfair.
“The pain is unbearable and sometimes I feel like jumping off the Forth Road Bridge.”