Children having teeth removed in county reaches record levels
» A RECORD number of children in the county are having rotten teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
Analysis of NHS figures shows that 300 children aged 10 and under had tooth extractions in 2016/17 - despite tooth decay being entirely preventable.
The figure is up from 225 children the previous year, and is more than double the 148 children in 2010/11, when modern records began.
Children usually have rotten teeth removed under general anaesthetic because it would be too traumatic for them to have injections to numb the pain.
When they are unconscious, dentists will remove as many rotten teeth as possible in one go.
The data does not make it clear whether the children are having adult or milk teeth removed.
Young children in Gloucestershire are actually less likely to need rotten teeth taken out as children in other parts of the country.
Across England, 31,666 kids under the age of 11 had general anaesthetic to remove their rotten teeth in 2016/17 - one in every 237 children.
In comparison, the 300 children having tooth removals in Gloucestershire works out as one for every 260 kids in the area.
Within our region, the Forest of Dean had the worst rate of tooth removal (one in every 166 children aged 10 and under), while the Cotswolds had the best (one in every 336).
Claire Stevens, consultant in paediatric dentistry and spokesperson for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, said: “There are still unacceptably high levels of decay in some children, often in the most deprived areas. “Decay is the result of consumption of too much sugar, whether in food or drink, and the absence of effective oral hygiene. When sugar can be kept to mealtimes and children brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, decay can be prevented.
“We all tend to inherit habits and beliefs but sometimes the advice that gets passed down the generations is outdated.
“The parents I see whose children are having extractions want the best for their children and in most cases, once they have been given the right information on diet and oral hygiene and start taking their child to the dentist regularly, oral health in the family will improve.
“BSPD’S advice is to take your child to the dentist when their first teeth come through and then as often as recommended by your dentist.
“A child undergoing extractions needs to be calm and still. Sadly, many of the children having multiple extractions are too young to be able to keep calm and still and a general anaesthetic in hospital is the only way they can be treated. It remains the kindest and safest way to treat young children requiring multiple extractions.”