The findings were published in BMJ Public Health
Children living in the most deprived areas are three times more likely to need to have rotten teeth removed in hospital, according to a study.
The researchers said there is an urgent need for fairer access to dental services to address inequalities.
The findings, published in BMJ Public Health, were a “stark reminder” to the new government that “attrition and deprivation go hand in hand”, experts said.
The analysis by researchers at Queen Mary University of London included records from 608,278 children in the north-east of the capital aged five to 16.
Of the total, approximately 3,034 children had at least one tooth extracted under general anesthesia, which is performed in a hospital setting.
The researchers said that while the prevalence of having at least one tooth extracted across the age group was “low”, there were “significant ethnic disparities” and “prevalence in more deprived areas was more than three times higher than in less deprived areas”. . .
Vanessa Muirhead, co-author and Reader and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health at Queen Mary, said: “Unfortunately, our findings demonstrate wide socio-economic and ethnic inequalities associated with access to dental care and outcomes.
“Teeth extraction is a last resort, but when families have difficulty accessing timely prevention and treatment services, dental problems can progress until children need more serious and expensive interventions, such as multiple tooth extractions under general anesthesia.”
White Irish, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and other Asian children registered with a GP in Tower Hamlets were more likely to have had at least one tooth removed compared to earlier-born white British children registered with a GP in Newham.
Children from Chinese, white and black African, other mixed, Indian, black African, other black and unknown ethnic backgrounds, and registered with a GP in Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest, were also less likely to have at least one tooth extraction under general anesthesia.
Lead author Nicola Firman, a health data scientist at Queen Mary, added: “Linking health data from different settings has allowed us to see more clearly the inequalities in the dental care system.
“Our findings indicate an urgent need for equitable access to preventive general dental services and interventions that target the broader determinants of dental health.”
The research was supported by Barts Charity.
Tooth decay remains the most common reason for young people aged five to nine to be admitted to hospital.
Earlier this year, figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Inequalities (OHID) revealed that last year 47,581 teeth were extracted in NHS hospitals in England for patients aged 0 to 19.
Around 66% of exports – or 31,165 – were for the primary diagnosis of tooth decay, a 17% increase on the previous 12 months.
In the run-up to the general election, Labor promised to provide 700,000 extra dental appointments and introduce a supervised tooth-brushing program for three to five-year-olds.
Following the party’s victory in the 4th of July vote, Health Secretary Wes Streeting met with leading dentists to begin discussions on reforming the NHS dental contract.
Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association (BDA), said: “This is a stark reminder to a new government that attrition and deprivation go hand in hand.
“Children in our poorest communities – who are also the least likely to see a dentist – continue to be hardest hit.
“We need urgent action, both to save NHS dentistry and to put prevention promises into practice.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
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