Below is a summary of an article recently published in the telegraph. There have been several reports across the times, and the daily mail relating to this. The telegraph report is as follows.
“Almost 26,000 primary school children were treated for tooth decay in the past year, making it the most common reason youngsters are admitted to hospital, research shows.Nearly 500 children aged five to nine were hospitalised due to rotten teeth each week in 2013-14.”
This leads to many children having as many as 10 or more deciduous (baby) teeth removed at a time and in some cases having to undergo general anaesthetic. These reports have called for a reduction of sugary drinks and fruit juice being given to children. Some have called for a ban on sugary drinks in schools to reduce these numbers.
“The number of hospital admissions for five to nine-year-olds with dental problems increased by more than 3000 in the just three years, from 22,574 in 2010-11 to 25,812 in 2013-14, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre”.
This of course is quite a startling figure, as fillings in smaller children can be quite traumatic and the last o a dental phobia. Decay is caused by a high frequency of sugar intake. It is not the amount but the frequency, when you eat sugar you put your mouth in an acid state. Therefore demineralisation occurs, when this occurs regulary this causes more and more damage to the enamel. A comparison thats easy to understand is the effect of acid rain on statues and buildings. Over time as more and more rain permeates into the stone more and more is eroded off. This is similar in the structures of the teeth.
Once decay has progressed past the enamel into the soften dentine layer then we need to act before the tooth becomes sensitive and painful. Decay if untreated will eventually reach the pulp of the tooth, and aggrivate the nerve tissues within the tooth. This will then lead to infection, the options are then either Root Canal treatment or extraction of the tooth. We would all like to prevent the loss of a tooth or root canal treatment as it can be uncomfortable and costly. Tooth structures can be replaced but nothing is quite as well designed as your natural tooth.
This has led to a lot of debate to whether dentists should carry out more fillings during a patients childhood. However there is a line between what is clinically necessary and prevention. More information abouts the patients background itself may be needed to assess this. Every child should be assessed individually and treatment plans should be adapted to the childs circumstances and dental history, taking into account siblings and family members treatment history.
The full news story is here: