Call for action on child tooth decay
DENTISTS are calling for action and investment to tackle the region’s £13m child tooth decay bill.
New figures show a child in Greater Manchester is 60pc more likely to be admitted to hospital to have rotten teeth extracted compared to the average child in England.
Dentists warn the ‘painful and completely pre- ventable’ procedures are costing the NHS millions every year.
In the last four years dental surgeons carried out more than 15,000 extractions on children under general anaesthetic.
And five-year-olds in Salford, Oldham and Rochdale are more than six times more likely to have decay than children in Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s Surrey constituency.
Ben Atkins, a dentist at Revive Dental Care in Salford, said: “I see children day in and day out at my practice with high levels of tooth decay, which breaks my heart as dental disease is preventable.
“All too often I have no choice but to take out rotten teeth, and if multiple teeth are involved I have to refer them to the local hospital.
“Why are we carrying out extractions, when we should be saving pain and money by aiming to keep healthy teeth in healthy mouths?
“Investment in prevention, and co-ordinated action from the top down could transform these children’s lives to ensure that it’s not just the welloff that benefit from good dental health.”
The British Dental Association (BDA) are calling f o r politicians in Greater Manchester to reduce the availability of sugary foods in schools and expand dental initiatives across the region.
BDA chairman Mick Armstrong says Greater Manchester mayoral candidates should prioritise children’s oral health.