Concerns as 140 Bury children admitted to hospital for tooth decay

Fresh data from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show there were an estimated 200 total hospital admissions in Bury for children's tooth extraction in the year to March 2023.

Of these, around 140 were extractions for tooth decay.

Last week the government promised a £200m investment into dentistry to increase the number of NHS dentist appointments available.

The plan will see dentists being offered cash incentives to see patients who have not had an appointment for two years or more.

It also has a major new focus on the prevention of tooth decay and good oral health in young children.

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But Cllr Nathan Boroda, cabinet member for health and adult social care of the Labour-run council, argues the plan "will not go remotely far enough" to fixing the problem.

Cllr Nathan Boroda (Image: Bury Council website)

He said: “People across Bury are feeling the effects of the Conservative government’s shameful neglect of dentistry over the last 14 years.

“Dental decay is one of the biggest sources of admissions to elective care for children and we know that this is entirely preventable.

"That’s why Labour are committed to increasing affordable access to dentistry and a transformational Child Health Action Plan.

“The additional £200m of taxpayers’ money is clearly welcome but this is ultimately a sticking plaster that will not will not go remotely far enough to rescue NHS dentistry in Bury and across the country.”

The figures also showed that, overall, the rate of tooth extractions in Bury was 417 per 100,000 children – above the national rate of 360 per 100,000.

Across NHS hospitals in England, there were 47,581 tooth extractions for patients aged under 19.

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A spokesperson from Department of Health and Social Care said: “Access to dental services is improving, and last year around 800,000 more children saw an NHS dentist.

“Our new dental recovery plan sets out how we will make access to dentistry faster, simpler, and fairer.

“The plan – backed by £200m of government funding – will create an additional 2.5m dental appointments for patients over the next 12 months.

“We will also drive a major new focus on prevention and good oral health in young children.

"This includes the Smile for Life programme – providing advice to parents and parents-to-be to promote good practices in their children – and providing fluoride varnish for children in schools in under-served areas to reduce tooth decay.”