CMO report: Dentists back ideas to tackle obesity and tooth decay together

Despite both conditions being driven by common risk factors, they have rarely received a coherent response from policymakers.

Dentist leaders have backed calls for the sweeping measures in the report, including applying VAT to all unhealthy foods, making free drinking water readily available across public places and ensuring that food and drink in nurseries and childcare settings is healthy.

In 2017/18, there were 38,385 tooth extractions under general anaesthetic in children due to tooth decay - equivalent to 13 full school buses each week. Public Health England data indicates that at least 60,000 days of school are missed during the year for hospital tooth extractions; parents and carers may also have to take time off work.

The report recognises that both tooth decay and obesity mirror social deprivation. Over a third of children from deprived backgrounds in England had tooth decay (36.3 per cent), compared to just 12.5 per cent in the least deprived backgrounds.