British dental services are so wretched that people are travelling to war-ravaged Ukraine to have their teeth fixed.
The shortage of NHS dentists has left patients with a choice of expensive private treatment, suffering in silence or DIY agony.
A recent survey found 91% of practices are not accepting new patients. In the East Midlands the figure is 97%. There are now 11 million people going without an appointment – up from four million in 2019.
On average, 73 children a day have to have rotten teeth removed because of Tory failures to invest in dental services. Tooth extraction is now the biggest single reason for under-10s’ hospital admissions.
If bleeding, bombed-out Ukraine can still offer an affordable, functioning dental service, it is a scandal and a disgrace that we cannot.
The riot stuff
Buckingham Palace is naturally deeply disappointed that the King has had to postpone his visit to France.
But given the unrest across the country it was right to err on the side of caution.
If French President Emmanuel Macron is embarrassed that he is unable to host the King on what would have been the first overseas visit of his reign he has only himself to blame.
The haughty way he pushed through his plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 was unnecessarily inflammatory.
By bypassing parliament he has acted like an absolute monarch and not the leader of a democratic republic.
We deplore violence. But we applaud French workers for standing up for their rights.
The Tories would have to rethink raising the retirement age to 68 if people this side of the Channel showed the same spirit.
Home rules
The Sussex town of Wadhurst has topped the UK list of best places to live. But we won’t all be rushing to settle there. Because if you ask most people, they will say your home is where you heart is.
