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New analysis by the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons shows there has been a 24% rise in the number of tooth extractions performed on 0–4-year-olds in hospitals in England over the last decade. This is the first time long term data for 0-4-year-olds has been published.

NHS Digital figures, provided under a Freedom of Information request, show there were 84,086 procedures carried out on 0–4-year-olds between 2006/07 and 2015/16. This is a steep increase when compared to a 16% increase in the population of 0–4-year-olds over the same period.

Commenting on the figures, the British Dental Association (BDA) lamented the lack of government strategy and action on tooth decay and England's persistent oral health inequalities over the last decade. Both Scottish and Welsh devolved governments have funded dedicated programmes that have had transformative effects on children's oral health.

The figures also show more than 34,000 tooth extractions were performed on 0–9-year-olds in the each of the last two years.

BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: 'An entirely preventable disease is going almost unchallenged as the leading cause of hospital admissions among young children. These extractions are placing a huge strain on the NHS, and while governments in Wales and Scotland have set out dedicated strategies, ministers in England have offered little more than a collective shrug.

'It's a national scandal that a child born in Blackburn is now seven times more likely to experience decay than one born in the Health Secretary's Surrey constituency. These deep inequalities now require real commitment from government, not just token efforts.'