NHS dentist crisis sees 119 children in hospital every day for extractions
MORE than 100 children and teenagers had teeth pulled out in NHS hospitals every day last year.
A total of 47,581 extractions were carried out across England on in-patients up to the age of 19.
This comes to 119 a day, according to the figures from the office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Two thirds of extractions were because of decay, up from one in six in 2022.
Hospital admissions for extractions in children cost the NHS £64million last year and those for tooth decay £41million.
The decay-related extraction rate for children in the most deprived communities was nearly three-and-a-half times that in the most affluent areas.
Decay was the most common reason for hospital admission in children aged from five to nine. There were also regional disparities, with Yorkshire and the Humber reporting 405 decay-related extractions per 100,000 children – the highest figure – and the East Midlands reporting 80 per 100,000 – the lowest figure. David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: ‘These stark figures reveal that a lack of access to affordable dentistry is having a worrying impact on the state of children’s teeth.’ Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, a dean at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: ‘The figures are a sobering reminder of the prevalence of tooth decay, something which is largely preventable.
‘Children should be encouraged to brush teeth regularly with fluoride toothpaste, visit the dentist, and cut down on sugary foods that can lead to decay.’
The Government has unveiled a £200million plan to bolster NHS dentistry in England. Proposals include £20,000 bonuses for dentists working in under-served communities in a bid to increase appointment capacity by 2.5million.
Mobile dental teams will be deployed to schools to give 165,000 children preventative fluoride varnish treatments. There will also be consultation on adding fluoride to mains water supplies.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the plan would make NHS dental care ‘faster, simpler and fairer for patients and staff’. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it was a major investment that would ‘make a significant difference’.
However, the plan fails to include a national rollout of supervised toothbrushing in schools, which has been proposed by Labour. Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association, warned: ‘Ministers are trying to turn supervised brushing into a political football. They need to grow up and double down on tried and tested programmes.
‘That means real commitment and ambition, comprehensively funded. So, the precise opposite of the plans we have seen.’
Wes Streeting, Labour’s health spokesman, said: ‘Tens of thousands of children were forced to hospital with rotting teeth last year, and the problem is getting worse.
‘Not only is this harming children’s start to life, it’s costing the NHS through the nose. The NHS asked for supervised toothbrushing for three- to five-year- olds, but Conservative ministers put ideology over children’s health and blocked it.’
‘Faster, simpler and fairer’