The latest annual data on NHS spending in 2016/17 reveals there were 42,911 extractions of multiple teeth in under 18s in England at a cost of £36.2 million.
Key messages
- Tooth decay is largely preventable, yet it is the most common oral disease affecting children and young people in England.
- In 2016/2017, there were nearly 43,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in children and teenagers. This is the equivalent of 170 a day. The excessive consumption of sugary food and drink and poor oral hygiene is likely to be a major cause behind the high number of cases.
- Councils have been calling for the Government to take tough action on sugar including reducing the amount of sugar in soft drinks and introducing teaspoon labelling on the front of products. As local government is responsible for public health, councils should be given a say in deciding how and where the revenue from the soft drinks levy is spent.
- Good public health has the potential to make a big difference to our society. It prevents the development of physical and mental ill-health later in life, improves people’s wellbeing and reduces pressures on other vital services such as social care and the NHS. Every £1 spent on public health in UK saves an average of £14.
- Despite the potential benefits of public health services, local authorities face a £331 million reduction to their public health budget, on top of a £200 million reduction announced in 2015. We are calling on the Government to cancel future reductions to the public health grant and return funding that has been cut since 2015.
- The Government needs to invest in prevention and early intervention. A Prevention Transformation Fund worth £1 billion would enable some double running of new investment in preventative services alongside ‘business as usual’ in the current system, until savings can be realised and reinvested into the system as part of wider local prevention strategies.
Read the full briefing
Children's Oral Health, House of Lords debate, Thursday 18 January 2018