Newly-published data from NHS England shows that tooth decay remains the most common cause of childhood hospital admissions.
As published by Dentistry, the figures show that 21,126 children aged between 5 and 9 were admitted to hospital for tooth decay in 2024/2025 – 65% higher than the next leading cause: acute tonsillitis. Additionally, the number of children in the age bracket which have been admitted to hospital due to tooth decay has risen slightly when compared to the previous year.
Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Charlotte Eckhardt, deems this a “public health emergency”, commenting:
“Tooth decay is entirely preventable, yet thousands of children are hospitalised every year for procedures that could have been avoided with simple daily habits and better access to an NHS dentist. The government’s dental contract must be boldly overhauled if they want to improve patient access and outcomes.
“Every child in hospital with tooth decay is proof that prevention has failed. We must act now to spare children needless pain, time off school, and avoidable surgery.
“The government’s commitment to supervised toothbrushing schemes is welcome, but it is not a fix-all solution. The programme must be sustained, not a one-off, reaching as many children as possible and helping families build lasting brushing habits at home.
“We also urge the government to strengthen the Soft Drinks Industry Levy by lowering the sugar threshold from 5g to 4g per 100ml and extending it to milk-based drinks. This would be a major step towards protecting children’s oral health.”
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