Shocking rise in kids with rotten teeth
THE number of children in Manchester having rotten teeth removed under general anaesthetic is on the rise.
Analysis of NHS figures shows that 1,546 children aged 10 and under had tooth extractions in 2016/17 – despite tooth decay being entirely preventable.
The figure is up from 1,342 children the previous year, and was last higher in 2012/13, when 1,582 children had rotten teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
Modern records go back as far as 2011/12, when 1,650 children in Manchester were sent to sleep to have decayed teeth taken out.
In most cases, tooth decay is caused by having too much sugar in your diet and not brushing teeth or cleaning gums properly.
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. If a tooth shows even the slightest sign of decay, it will most likely be removed in order to prevent the child from having to undergo further general anaesthetic at a later stage. The data does not make it clear whether the children are having adult or milk teeth removed.
Young children in Manchester are more than twice as 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 1,546 children having tooth removals in Manchester works out as one for every 105 kids in the area – one of the highest rates in the country.
Claire Stevens, consultant in paediatric dentistry and spokesperson for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, said: “The parents I see whose children are having extractions want the best for their children.
“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,” she said.