The Covid toll on children’s teeth

THOUSANDS of children have been left in agony after the number having rotten teeth removed in hospital halved during Covid, dentists warn.

Surgeons did 55,137 extractions on patients aged 19 and under in 2019-20, but this fell 59 per cent to 22,459 last year, leaving children in pain, the British Dental Association says.

The Royal College of Surgeons last night warned the backlog could take years to clear and called for an expansion of water fluoridation schemes and more supervised toothbrushing in schools.

Extraction rates for children in the most deprived areas were three times that of those in the most affluent areas. Tooth extractions have been the top reason for hospital admissions among young children for a generation.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said dentists ‘prioritised vulnerable groups and urgent care’. An NHS spokesman said they have ‘been clear’ children must be a priority.