31.10.17
Twice as many under-10s in hospital with tooth decay than broken arms
There are a huge number of children in England going to hospital for tooth decay – twice the number being admitted for broken arms, in fact.
There were 34,000 cases of children under the age of 10 needing treatment in hospital as a result of tooth decay between April 2016 and March 2017, according to the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the RCS.
NHS Digital data shows that only 17,000 broken arms were dealt with in the same period, while 19,500 cases of asthma received hospital treatment.
Overall, there were 45,000 cases of children and teenagers, aged from infancy up to 19 years, who needed hospital treatment because of tooth decay in 2016/17. The youngest of which was less than a year old.
“Tens of thousands of children every year are having to go through the distressing experience of having teeth removed under general anaesthetic,” commented Professor Michael Escudier, dean of the FDS.
“Reducing sugar consumption, regularly brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste and routine dental visits will all help ensure this is avoided.
He said the problem was also being compounded by many children just not visiting the dentist when they should, an issue Escudier puts down to parents not knowing that under-18s receive free NHS dental care.
The dean explained: “Dental visits in the first years of life enable children, as well as their parents and carers, to learn about good oral health practice.
“These visits also familiarise children with the dental environment, getting them comfortable in a dentist's chair. This instils a first positive impression of dentistry, rather than a potentially scary and unpleasant one if their first visit is because there is a problem or, even worse, if they need to have teeth removed under general anaesthetic.”
The British Dental Association has blamed the problem on a lack of effective government initiatives in England.
The organisation’s chair of general dental practice, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, said: “These shocking statistics are rooted in an abject failure by government to tackle a preventable disease.
“While we are hearing positive noises, ministers have not met words with action. Scotland and Wales have dedicated national programmes to improve children's oral health, England has been offered a new logo and limited action in a handful of council wards.
“It's a scandal that when some local authorities are doing sterling work, others are sitting on their hands while Westminster offers radio silence.”
Top image: FangXiaNuo
Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an NHE columnist? If so, click here