Figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre have been garnering media attention over the past week, and now dentists in the West Midlands are searching for answers to what is claimed to be a 300% increase in cases of hospital stays for children with tooth decay.
Dr Nigel Carter, of the British Dental Health Foundation, has been vocal about the causes of this problem and he says that the statistics ‘beggared belief’. According to the figures, there were 456 children under the age of ten from the West Midlands area who were admitted to hospital with tooth decay over the period 2010-2011, whereas 2013-2014 saw that number rise to a shocking 1,444. Dr Carter, who practices in the area, said that the increase was ‘absolutely incredible and is indicative of a massive failure in parenting.’
Further statistics revealed that during 2010-2011, 120 under-fours from the West Midlands were admitted for dental surgery, but last year this almost trebled to 353.
One theory as to what is causing this sudden increase is the rise in immigration from people from Eastern Europe, who are bringing their families to the UK to take advantage of NHS facilities and dental treatments that they cannot afford in their home countries.