According to a surgeon at The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, over a thousand children from Victoria have been put under general anaesthetic to have multiple rotten teeth removed, and sugary drinks are thought to be at the heart of the problem. Sophie Beaumont, a dental surgeon at the hospital, said that it is ‘not uncommon’ for children in the area to require multiple extractions, as several teeth develop decay at the same time.
Dr Beaumont suggested that many parents do not realise the severity of the problem until their child is unable to eat or sleep because of toothache; not only is this causing great discomfort, it could also make the child’s first experience of the dentist a stressful one.
Children in New Zealand are in a similar situation, says Dr Rob Beaglehole, principal dental officer at Nelson Marlborough District Health. He told Daily Mail Australia that he has extracted rotten teeth from the mouths of children who were still in nappies. Dr Beaglehole blames diets high in sugar and says that lots of small children are having fizzy drinks put in their baby bottles after drinks manufacturers have deliberately marketed their products to young children.