The NHS dentists giving free treatment to the homeless

Every Wednesday Becky Joyce goes to see her dentist.

But the Leeds homeless charity founder is not anxious about tooth trouble of her own.

For the past year, she has been taking vulnerable clients for "life-changing" free NHS dental care in an effort to help "give them their smile back".

Her charity, Homeless Street Angels, hands out food, clothes and toiletries to the homeless as well as helping them to find housing.

But for most of the people the charity works with, having a roof over their head is not the end of the story.

Homeless Street Angels also helps clients to complete applications, access support for substance abuse, and get furniture for their homes.

And the "final piece of the jigsaw" is teeth, said Ms Joyce.

Dental problems are common among people experiencing homelessness, many of whom have difficulty accessing healthcare.

Dentist Munaf Qayyum, who runs High Ash Dental Surgery, in Aldwoodley, said he had seen homeless patients who have gone "years and years" without treatment.

Each Wednesday, he gives free treatment to four or five clients of Homeless Street Angels and another Leeds homeless charity, Saint George's Crypt.

Initial appointments will often involve extractions, fillings and restorations to relieve pain, with some patients then returning for dentures and bridges.

The sessions are funded by NHS England in a project to improve access to dentists among the marginalised.

Ms Joyce said some clients began with "no teeth whatsoever" or rotting teeth, but after months of treatment had "amazing smiles".

She added: "By the end of their treatment they've got tears in their eyes.

"It's giving them their lives back, because it's taken by drugs and alcohol and all of that. It's giving them a smile back."

John Nicolson, 53, had dentures fitted at High Ash last year and said he felt "like a new person".

Mr Nicholson said he lost his privately rented flat after suffering a stroke in 2011 and spending a year in hospital.

He lived in temporary accommodation for a year before Homeless Street Angels helped him secure a council flat in Middleton this month.

The father-of-one said: "I hadn't looked after my teeth in a long while.

"I wasn't looking after myself because I didn't think I was worth looking after. They have just got me in a different attitude now."

Ms Joyce said another client has got a job and started working as a mentor since receiving dental care, adding: "Before that he wouldn't have had the confidence, he used to talk with his hand over his mouth."

Another told her he would have been "too ashamed" to attend his father's funeral without the treatment he received.

Mr Qayyum, whose surgery is one of two in Leeds involved in the project, said the work was "really rewarding".

"It's not just coming and getting their teeth done and going, it's almost easing them back into society," he added. "It's a really positive thing."

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