The Issues and Complications with Paediatric Dentistry in the UK

In the last few decades, the problems facing NHS paediatric dentistry have been highlighted by countless reports and news articles in the UK, however few efforts have been made to rectify the damaged state of children’s oral health provisions. In order to save valuable NHS time and money in the future, and improve the overall wellness of adolescents, preventing tooth decay and promoting good oral hygiene habits is paramount.?

A new report about the current issues facing children’s oral health laid out a new plan for the labour government to reduce the elevated levels of dental disease in children in areas of the UK. Information displayed in this report provided staggering figures about the emergency within UK paediatric dentistry.?

The cost of hospital admissions for childhood dental extractions had reached ￡40.7 million in 2023. This statistic emphasises the burden that the dental crisis in children has upon the NHS and taxpayer money. Many of these extractions are preventable, displaying the need for education surrounding oral hygiene.?

Whilst waiting for these extractions, 67% of children are in pain, 38% have sleepless nights and 26% miss school days. The impact on physical and mental health of children during the long wait for treatment is emphasised by this data. The Government plans to reduce the long wait for treatment, which should decrease the burden on children in the UK.?

Research revealed that only half of parents have not taken their children to the dentist by the time they are three years old, despite official guidance recommending they are taken when their first milk teeth appear. Many parents think that baby teeth do not matter and do not need to be checked by the dentist the us until we’re around 12 years old.?

Overall, only 39% of children were considered to have good oral health. Tooth decay was found to be the most common reason for hospital admissions in five- to nine-year olds. In a first-world country, this statistic is particularly worrying and conveys the sheer number of children that are at risk of obtaining oral health diseases from lack of hygiene. Furthermore, 3 in 10 children aged five in England have tooth decay, resulting from this poor oral hygiene. The impact of tooth decay on the lives of children are more than only cosmetic. Tooth decay has a direct impact on a child’s quality of life.?

More than one third (35%) of 12-year-olds report being embarrassed to smile or laugh due to the condition of their teeth.?This statistic emphasises how oral wellness can significantly affect mental health, which is incredibly detrimental for children, who are at a higher risk for developing mental-health issues.?

On top of these statistics that directly surround health issues, the accessibility that children have to dental services was also reviewed. For example, it was found that:?

In 2023, the average waiting time for children to receive dental treatment under general anaesthetic was 80 weeks. This is an excessive length of time to be without required dental treatment and may affect other aspects of a child (and their family’s) lives. For example, it may cause issues at school and with their self-confidence.?

More than half (53%) of children in England have not seen an NHS dentist in the past 12 months. This emphasises the inaccessibility of dental services in the UK. To improve access, the government must address the shortage of dentists in the workforce and commit to reforms of the NHS contract.?

What can be done about these shocking issues??

The N8 Research Partnership established some guidance to help overcome these issues; the main aims are to: maximise the impact of early years and education-based interventions?to prevent dental disease and to re-orient dental services towards prevention of dental diseases in children and young people.?

Zoe Marshman (professor of dental public health at the University of Sheffield and one of the main authors of the report) said: ‘In their manifesto, the Labour Party put an emphasis on children’s health and had also talked about oral health and tooth decay. We wanted to capitalise on that and make sure all the evidence was in place for the new government to start putting a national oral health strategy together. ‘There have been lots of reports published in the past, but we wanted this one to be in a format that is appropriate for policy makers to read. We have demonstrated the state of children’s oral health with evidence from research, and then we wanted to put forward some solutions. It is not just a traditional survey which shows how bad things are, it also puts all the solutions in one place’.?

Hopefully, this report will help to provide effective support for the current Government to begin tackling the NHS dentistry crisis in children. Marshman also stated that she wants to ‘close the gap’ between academic findings and policy making, she wants to ensure that the research triggers action to be taken within the general dentistry industry.?

The importance of holistic care?

Writing in the report, Professor Waterhouse stated that: ‘We should be looking to a future where multiple measures are blended across not only dental services but wider health services, education, and social care to target those in most need, whether that is due to socioeconomic deprivation, geography, ethnicity, or disability.’ This will help to eradicate not only health diseases in society but also begin to tackle social inequality issues within the UK.?

Moreover, the integration of important dentistry governing bodies and national governance should allow the issues in NHS dentistry to be resolved in the next few years. The issues also require a great deal of education for our youth, teaching them the importance of protecting and prioritising their oral hygiene.

Written by Alice

Moderated by Adelene