Dental Decay the Most Common Cause of Hospital Admission for Under 10s
Statistics have confirmed that dental decay is the most common cause of hospital admission for children aged under 10.
New figures from the government show a 20% increase in the number of young children requiring dental treatment in hospital in the least year. Of the 62,000 admissions, around two thirds were believed to be linked to dental decay or gum disease.
Yorkshire dentist Dr Tony Kilcoyne accused the NHS of failing to provide a service that is fit for purpose and has recently launched an initiative supported by around 400 dentists to try and improve standards of oral health in the nation’s children. Figures show that a large proportion of adults and children are going for long periods of time without seeing a dentist and children are consuming excessive amounts of sugar, which is undoubtedly linked to increasing rates of decay.
Dr Kilcoyne claimed that around 90% of cases of dental disease could be prevented by making positive lifestyle choices. However, the situation has got so bad that it will take a long time and a lot of effort to improve standards of oral health among children, especially those living in deprived areas.
Many dentists are calling for more to be done to educate children and parents about the effects of an unhealthy diet and to improve access to NHS services in under-served areas.
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