A British man tore out his own A tooth with a dumbbell and a string

A 65-year-old man couldn't afford a dentist and decided to extract his own tooth using a string and a dumbbell.

James Stewart, 65, from Glasgow, said he had a terrible toothache, and his dentist had moved to a private clinic. He couldn't afford the private services, and the wait to see a dentist at a public clinic would have been very long. Ultimately, Stewart pulled the tooth himself.

He filmed himself tying one end of a string to the aching tooth and hanging a dumbbell on the other. He then climbed onto a chair and dropped the dumbbell. The tooth flew out of Stewart's mouth. Afterward, he said, he rinsed his mouth with vodka to prevent infection. "Two seconds of pain, and then it was all gone," he said.

According to Need To Know, millions of people in the UK can't get dental appointments with their insurance. Some have to wait months, and sometimes travel across the country for an appointment. Furthermore, nine out of ten public clinics simply refuse to treat adult patients.

Meanwhile, a London dentist commented on the video, claiming he had vacancies at his clinic, and that a tooth extraction would cost £76. Other users claimed the British healthcare system is simply ineffective.