“Still shameful that preventable tooth decay is causing children and young people to go to hospital”

Once again, the rates of tooth extractions for children and young people remain at an unacceptable level. According to the latest government data, in 2021/22, there were 42,180 tooth extractions in the NHS for 0 to 19-year-olds. Of these, 26,741 were due to preventable tooth decay. There were also huge regional inequalities, with children and young people living in the most deprived communities 3.5 times more likely to have tooth extractions than those living in the most affluent.

The figures are lower than pre-covid tooth extraction rates. However, this indicates that secondary care dentistry is still recovering following the pandemic and may underestimate the true level of demand. Dentists across the country are working incredibly hard to tackle the backlog and ensure that children and young people receive treatment as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, issues with accessing appointments and a lack of a coherent oral health prevention strategy from the government means thousands of children and young people will continue to wait in pain.

Commenting on the figures, Matthew Garrett, dean of the faculty of dental surgery Royal College of Surgeons of England, said, “Although we welcome the recovery of services after the pandemic and congratulate the community for their hard work, it is still shameful that preventable tooth decay is causing children to go to hospital and go under general anaesthetic. Tooth decay is consistently the main reason children are admitted to hospital and is a clear indicator of health inequalities.

“With the government dropping the Health Disparities White Paper, we urgently need a prevention strategy that prioritises children’s oral health.

“In 2021/22, the costs to the NHS of hospital tooth extractions in 0 to 19-year-olds was estimated to be £81 million for all tooth extractions and £51 million for decay-related extractions. By implementing a coherent prevention strategy that includes supervised toothbrushing schemes, and using the upcoming budget to recommit to childhood obesity policies that reduce sugar consumption, millions could be diverted to improve access to dentistry.”