Child tooth decay costs NHS £165m

ALMOST 43,000 hospital operations to remove the rotten teeth of teenagers and children were carried out last year – equating to 170 a day.

The alarming number of cases, up by nearly a fifth in the past four years, have prompted calls for action to slash excessive sugar consumption by youngsters.

More than a quarter of children have tooth decay by the age of five. Extractions are now the top cause of childhood hospital admission for five to nine-year-olds.

There were 42,911 extractions of multiple teeth in under-18s in England in 2016/17 at a cost of £36.2million, putting unnecessary pressure on already overstretched services, according to new NHS spending data.

This reflects a 17 per cent increase on the 36,833 cases in 2012/13.

The total cost to the NHS of tooth extractions, which have to be carried out under general anaesthetic and typically involve removing several teeth at once, adds up to £165million since 2012.

The Local Government Association said: “There is an urgent need to curb our sugar addiction.”

The Oral Health Foundation said: “We urgently need to look at reducing childhood sugar intake.”

Children aged 11-18 get 40 per cent of their added sugars from fizzy drinks, according to the British Dental Association.