Student's toothache turned into deadly blood poisoning after struggle to get dental appointment

A student spent six weeks in hospital with a deadly sepsis infection after failing to get a dental appointment for his toothache due to NHS backlogs.

Nick Whelan was forced to undergo life-saving surgery after he was admitted to Ninewells Hospital with septicaemia in 2021.

Nick, 22, said he had been struggling to get a dentist appointment after his toothache began at the tail-end of the first lockdown in September 2020.

He told STV News: “Most of the time when you get a toothache, you kind of dread having to get it over and done with. I left it to kind of develop and didn’t really think much about it, until I started getting quite a bit of swelling and a bit of pressure.

“I tried to get a few dentist appointments where I was, at the time, registered and unfortunately they were so busy, they were stretching weeks ahead and I was a bit complacent with it, I suppose. Unfortunately it developed further from there.”

Nick spent six weeks in intensive care. Nick Whelan

Nick said he tried to schedule a dental appointment for weeks but failed to secure one due to the delays.

He also attempted to get in to see a GP but had to make do with phone consultations.

Less than six months later, he was admitted to Ninewells Hospital’s emergency department.

It had emerged the abscess on his tooth had led to blood poisoning, which had spread throughout his body and vital organs.

He was put in an induced coma and underwent an operation to remove the infected tissue.

“Once I was admitted and seen by a consultant, within half an hour, they were talking about theatre and having to cut me open,” he added.

“One of the kind of accessory issues was that the infection had been there for so long that it had obviously accessed my bloodstream and my immune system was struggling to fight it.

“I certainly felt like it could have developed into something – possibly the end of my life.”

Nick spent six weeks recovering in hospital following his operation, which has left him with permanent scarring on his neck and back.

He also needed physiotherapy and appointments with a neuropsychologist.

Dentistry 'on a knife edge', practitioners warn — Dentistry ‘on a knife edge’, practitioners warn STV News

He says all of this could have been avoided if he had been seen by a dentist on time.

“I remember walking out of Ninewells on the last day, the sun was shining and I remember thinking ‘I didn’t have to go through any of that. Nobody needs to go through any of that’.

“There were various stages where, for a good six, seven or eight week period, had I been able to access the correct care, none of this would have happened.

“It’s had a knock-on effect. The trauma is something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.”

Next month will mark five years since the Covid-19 lockdown was announced, and dentists in Scotland say the industry is still struggling with the impact.

Figures show that nearly 40% of people registered with a dentist have not seen one in two years, and 80,000 children and a quarter of adults registered at a practice have not seen a dentist in five years.

Practitioners say they’re struggling to fill and retain staff – making it harder for people to access NHS appointments.

Nick said it is worrying that accessibility remains an issue for people needing to see a dentist.

“It’s very frustrating that it’s still going on and these issues are still occurring for other people.

“It’s simply unacceptable that people have to beg for care from a system which is designed to be there for them. There will be people with stories similar to mine, possibly much worse.

“If things don’t start changing soon, people have to start asking real questions.”

‘We’re on a knife edge’

At a dentist in Forth Valley, they’ve seen an increase in NHS patients due to other practices struggling to take more on.

And Gillian says she fears for the future of her own practice.

She said: “I would say for now we’re in a fortunate position but in the blink of an eye that could change.

“I know certainly there are local practices that are struggling to recruit. From that, we’ve actually got a lot of new patients coming in to see us because we can provide that service.

“But we really are on a knife edge everywhere because every practice, especially on the NHS, all it takes is one colleague to leave, and they find themselves in a very difficult position.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, said the Government “must finally end the crisis in NHS dentistry”.

He said: “These figures are proof positive that being registered with a dentist is no measure of accessibility.

“An astonishing number of children and adults haven’t had recent dental check-ups or appointments.

“On the SNP’s watch, more than a quarter of P1 pupils are suffering from tooth decay and people are resorting to drastic measures like DIY dentistry, purchasing tools off Amazon to do the job themselves.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats were instrumental in introducing free dental checks, but SNP ministers are unpicking all that good work.

“Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have set out plans to end dental deserts and bring back local NHS dentists.

“We need to see ministers rewriting their failed NHS recovery plan, prioritising workforce planning and boosting the number of dentists taking on NHS patients.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Almost 95% of the population are registered with an NHS dentist, and 60% of those (3.1 million people) have seen a dentist in the last two years.

“Our significant and continued investment in NHS dentistry is supporting high volumes of treatment and ensures more time is spent with patients through enhanced examinations, with 2.6 million being completed between November 2023 and September 2024.”

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “I fully expect any patients in pain to be seen by an NHS dentist as a matter of urgency, either via their NHS dental practice for registered patients or via Public Dental Service clinics for unregistered patients”.

“Official statistics show that NHS dental services are performing well at a national level following the disruption of the pandemic, with almost 4 million courses of treatment delivered to patients between November 2023 and September 2024.”

“The 2025/26 Budget reinforces our commitment to NHS dentistry, with an increase of almost 15% in funding for primary care dental services planned – taking total funding to over half a billion pounds for the first time. It also includes investment of up to £3 million for additional measures to improve access and support the NHS dental workforce.”