Hero of the day:

A British army veteran pulled out 13 of his own teeth with pliers because he couldn’t find a free “NHS” dentist.

(They have dentists in Britain?)

Iraq War veteran Ian Boynton, 42, lacked the financial means to obtain professional dental care. One thing he didn’t lack was the ability and willingness to properly use hand tools, as he yanked the bakers-dozen rotten chompers right out with a pair of Channellocks. And no anesthesia. (We suspect our DIY dental patient may have had a wee bit to drink first, just to mitigate the pain.)

Even so, it takes a pair of brass ones to just sit down and start yanking teeth out with a pair of pliers. We are in awe.

Interestingly, a dentist heard about Boynton’s plight and came forward to offer his assistance, pro bono. A bit too late for that, we’re afraid, though our hapless, toothless friend might need some false teeth, lest he spend the rest of his life eating Jello and milkshakes.

All of us at AITS were quite impressed by Boynton’s feat of self-determination, though we always thought British teeth just fell out on their own.