Dorset dentists worried as NHS figures show 40% of children didn’t visit a dentist last year

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Dentists in Dorset are worried about the state of children’s teeth after it emerged that 40% of the county’s children didn’t have a dental check-up in 2017.

According to figures from NHS Digital, almost 29,000 children in the county didn’t go to the dentist last year. This equates to 39.6% of the child population. Dentists recommend routine checks every 6 months for children over the age of 12 months old.

The figures have been released after NHS England revealed that dental decay was the most common cause of hospital admissions among children in England, despite the fact that almost all cases of decay are preventable.

In 2012/2013, the number of extractions carried out in hospitals was 36,883, but this rose to 42,911 in 2016/2017.

In response to the figures, Mick Armstrong, chair of the British Dental Association, said that it was “disappointing” that almost 40 percent of kids in Dorset aren’t going to the dentist on a regular basis, especially as NHS dental care is provided free of charge for under 18’s. The BDA has criticised successive governments for failing to prioritise dental health in children and called for the current government to do more to prevent rates of decay from rising. The BDA also suggested that the government introduce a scheme similar to Childsmile in Scotland and Designed to smile in Wales to try and reduce rates of decay and bring down the number of extractions carried out in English hospitals.

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