THE numbers of kids needing to have every single tooth removed has risen dramatically, a worrying new report reveals.

NHS figures have shown that 75 children needed full dental extractions due to decay last year – up 40 per cent from 2013.

Over the past five years, 322 kids aged under 10 have needed to have all their teeth out in hospital.

And the leading cause for such dramatic tooth decay, dentists claim, is poor diet.

The Mirror reports that experts are now calling for action to prevent an infant dental crisis.

For older children, it could mean having adult teeth removed – as they start growing between five and 14.

While dentists believe that the sugar tax is helping, more should be done to stem the tide.

British Dental Association chair Mick Armstrong said: “It’s tragic whenever a dentist has to perform a full clearance on a child, but in many hospitals it is business as usual.

“Tooth decay is ­preventable, but is the number one reason for ­child admissions.

“This is an epidemic that costs our NHS millions. The sugar levy is progress but must not mark the end of ­government interest. Kids deserve a national effort to turn the tables on decay.”

Dr Max Davie of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health added: “The leading cause of decay is poor diet.

“With one in three ­children obese by the time they leave primary school, cases of tooth ­extraction are likely to increase unless ­something is done urgently to prevent it.”

Despite most tooth extractions happening to older people, it’s the under-10s who are seeing the greatest surge – which the NHS puts down to sugary foods and drinks.

*Original article online at https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/fabulous/3560849/75-children-had-all-their-teeth-removed-last-year-after-sugar-addiction-caused-them-to-rot-away/

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