The Dentist's programme

BSPD wants to work with health officials to make it easier for parents and concerned healthcare professionals to help children with dental decay get early access to a paediatric dentist.

The programme reached an estimated audience of 1.75 million and showed the operations and procedures provided at the dental hospital, including two general anaesthetics on children undergoing multiple extractions. Whilst child dental health in the North West is amongst the worst in the UK, Manchester is not unique. Tooth decay is the third most common reason for a child to be admitted to hospital for a general anaesthetic with thousands of operations taking place at hospitals up and down the country every year.

Claire Stevens, a consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester, and spokeswoman for the Society, said: “If these children had seen a paediatric dentist earlier, it might have been possible to save their teeth, instead of removing them and potentially triggering dental anxieties for life.”