The Oral Health Foundation has said the latest rise in hospital tooth extractions among children is a stark reminder that preventable disease is still sending thousands of young people to hospital each year.
New government figures from 2025 show that 33,976 children and young people aged 0 to 19 had teeth removed in hospital because of tooth decay – an increase of 11% on the previous year.
In total, 56,143 tooth extractions were carried out in NHS hospitals for this age group, up 14% year-on-year. Tooth decay accounted for 6 in 10 extractions.
The cost to the NHS for decay-related extractions reached £51.2 million, up from £45.8 million the previous year.
A disease we know how to prevent
Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admission among children aged five to nine.
For children under four, around 8 in 10 extractions were due to decay. Among five to nine-year-olds, the figure rises to nearly nine-in-10.
These numbers represent thousands of… Source by Oral Health Foundation Read More
