Official figures have shown that hospitals have had to run extra operations in the evenings and at weekends to deal with the 46,500 children admitted annually to have teeth removed under general anaesthetic.
The BDA has called for the government to adopt a genuinely preventative approach to dentistry and has pushed for measures including sugar levies, food labelling, and the provision of fluoride varnish to children in deprived areas, which has already delivered huge results in Scotland.
Mick Armstrong, Chair of the British Dental Association said:
“Politicians have left 'Oral Health' out of the 'Health' debate. And our children are paying the price.
“Tooth decay is always preventable. So it’s frankly obscene that we are still seeing children filling up hospital beds for extractions. We can and should address these problems at source, at less cost to the taxpayer, and at less distress to these young patients.
“So let's talk food labelling, let’s talk sugar taxes, and yes, let’s talk about fluoride. The only option we don’t have is inaction. David Cameron says that ‘prevention’ is the mantra at the heart of this government’s health policy. As long as tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions those words will be nothing more than empty rhetoric.
“We urgently require parents, teachers and policymakers to work with the dental profession so we can make this scandal history.”
The BDA has also thrown its weight behind today’s calls from the British Medical Association (BMA) for a 20 per cent levy on sugary drinks. Mick Armstrong added:
“Health professionals are speaking with one voice. It’s time government policy recognised the singular threat sugar represents to public health.
“It’s time for a real coordinated effort to wean Britain off its addiction to sugar. That means discouraging consumption and giving manufacturers a real reason to cut the dose.”