I was refused dental work after I was told I was too fat for my dentist’s chair – I was gobsmacked
A MAN has been left “insulted and upset” after allegedly being refused dental work because he was “too fat” for the chair.
David Bottomley, from Penderyn, Wales, said he was “gobsmacked” by the decision after being a regular patient at the surgery for a decade.
David, 65, who weighs 22 stone, said that he went to the dentist to have two crowns replaced but was told to leave due to his size.
He was also reportedly told that he could not return to the surgery because of the way he spoke to staff in response.
David told Wales Online: “It took me two hours to get to the dentist because I have to get two buses from Penderyn to Glynneath. I sat down after getting there and began filling in an app about myself.
“About five minutes later while I was still filling it out she called me over and said: ‘Unfortunately sir you’re too big and our chairs will not be able to cope with your weight’.
“I found it insulting. I did become angry and I did raise my voice, but I wasn’t abusive and I didn’t swear, but the dentist came out and told me I needed to leave and I’d be struck off the list.
“I thought: ‘Who do they think they are? Telling me I’m too fat and then removing me from their list.’ I did say I was angry, it was a shock to the system to be told something like that.”
The outraged former pub landlord added that the crowns had fallen out while he was eating a pear and fumed: “Is it my problem that their chairs don’t work?”
The surgery have insisted that they acted in compliance with health and safety guidelines, but David was stunned that “in 2023 a dentist can’t cater for people who are overweight.”
He continued: “I wanted to share my story to say this is happening and it’s an insult. I also want to tell people to enquire with their dentist if they now have the same policy regarding weight of patients, because it’s wasted my time.
“I wish I’d have been told much earlier. It’s not like they didn’t know me. I’ve been this weight for 15 or 20 years and I’ve been going to the same dentist for 10 years.
“Yes I am slightly overweight and I have a heart condition, but surely all clientele deserve dental treatment.”
David is also worried about being struck off the clinic’s patient list and how long it could take to get access to dental services again.
A spokesperson for the practice said: “While we cannot comment on Mr Bottomley’s case in detail, we can offer assurances that we acted in line with agreed health and safety guidance.
“Chairs used to treat patients have weight limits, which means it would be unsafe to use them to provide dental care to any patient who is over this limit.
“Patients who are unable to be treated in standard dental chairs are then referred to the Swansea Bay community bariatric dental service which has a specialist chair available.
“We are sorry to hear that Mr Bottomley has raised these concerns, but we are more than happy to discuss it with him further if he would like to contact us directly.”
The British Dental Association says that risk assessments are carried out at all practices to determine the weight limit for chairs.
A spokesperson for the body said: “It is important that you find out the maximum weight that your dental chair can take (normally about 20 stone) so that you can speak with patients who you think may be over this weight.”