The number of children going to hospital for tooth extractions has risen by 17%, government figures show.
This comes as the Office for Health Improvement and Inequalities (OHID) revealed that 47,581 people aged 0-19 had a tooth extracted in hospital in 2022-2023.
This equates to approximately 119 exports per day in a five-day working week. Of these, approximately 66% were due to caries.
In addition, these exports cost the NHS an estimated £40.7 million per year.
The data also showed that tooth decay is the most common cause of hospital admission for children aged five to nine.
You can read the government’s full findings here.
This follows the NHS dental recovery plan announced by the government last week, with measures to tackle the current NHS dental crisis. The government said the plan could see the plan could see 2.5 million extra patients with NHS dental appointments over the next 12 months, as well as up to 1.5 million more treatments.
The plan includes:
- NHS dentists will receive a ‘new patient’ fee of between £15 and £50 (depending on treatment need) for treating around one million new patients who have not seen an NHS dentist for two or more years
- Around 240 dentists will be offered lump sum payments of up to £20,000 to work in underserved areas for up to three years
- A new ‘Smile for Life’ initiative, offering advice to parents and parents-to-be on proper care for baby gums and baby teeth
- Minimum NHS activity value rises to £28 (from £23)
- ‘Dental vans’ sent to rural areas to help reach more isolated communities
- A water fluoridation program to be developed by the government (subject to consultation).
“a critical issue”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said: ‘Access to dental services is improving and last year around 800,000 more children visited an NHS dentist. Our new dental rehabilitation plan sets out how we will make access to dentistry faster, simpler and fairer.
“The plan – backed by £200 million of government funding – will create an extra 2.5 million dental appointments for patients over the next 12 months.
“We will also bring a major new focus on prevention and good oral health for young children. This includes the Smile for Life program – providing advice to parents and parents-to-be to promote good practices in their children – and providing fluoride varnish for children in schools in underserved areas to reduce tooth decay.
However, the recovery plan has been criticized across the profession. Shawn Charlwood, chairman of the British Dental Association’s General Dentistry Committee, said: “This ‘recovery plan’ does not deserve the title. It will not stop the exit from the workforce or offer hope to millions struggling to access care. Nothing here meets the government’s stated ambitions or makes this service fit for the future.
“Ministers wanted to stop dentistry becoming an election issue. By rearranging the sunbeds they have achieved the exact opposite. The crisis will remain a burning issue in communities across this country until we achieve real change.’
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