It's never made sense to us why Britons have such awful tooth hygiene. For a developed country, their teeth surely don't look the part. It doesn't take a genius to realize that smoking three packs a day and drinking Earl Grey every ten minutes is a recipe for tooth disaster. We understand that Brits aren't the brightest of creatures (we're convinced dolphins rank higher), but by the time we were four we already knew that toothpaste was our friend. Surely an adult Englishman can outwit a four-year-old, right?
If the story of 38-year-old Pauline Coles is anything to go by, then it's no wonder why Brits avoid dentists like lepers—they die after a routine visit.
Ms. Coles visited the dentist to have a few teeth extracted. Everything went according to plan, and she was sent home to recover. Alas, no recovery would happen, as she choked on her own blood while sleeping and died.
So who's to blame here? Is it Ms. Coles who allowed her teeth and gums to get to such a rotten state that she couldn't handle a routine tooth extraction; or is it the dentist—likely rusty from lack of practice—who failed to realize the full extent of the poorness of this lady's dental health?
We'll tell you who's a fault. It's England. Their healthcare system is such a joke, people are forced to pull their own teeth out. Ms. Coles was lucky to even find a dentist.