New report highlights burden of childhood tooth decay on hospitals

A new report has shed light on the high number of children being admitted to hospital to treat tooth decay.

Analysis from the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons has shown that between April 2016 and March 2017, there were 34,205 cases of children needing treatment in hospital as a result of tooth decay, compared to 19,584 cases for asthma.

This is despite the fact that tooth decay is preventable in 90 percent of cases, whereas asthma is unavoidable. The figure was also higher than the 17,043 cases of children needing hospital treatment for arm fractures, with other totals standing at 10,397 for epilepsy, and 3,805 for appendicitis.

Tooth decay is the most common reason that children aged between five and nine need treatment in hospital, which is why campaigns such as Smile4Life and Starting Well have been launched to raise awareness of the importance of good oral health among children.

Professor Michael Escudier, dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, said: "It is encouraging that already there are several initiatives to help improve child oral health. However, there is still much to be done, particularly to ensure that we do not leave certain groups of patients behind."

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