More than a dozen Crawley children have decaying teeth removed during pandemic

More than a dozen children in Crawley had decaying teeth removed in hospital during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

The British Dental Association has urged the Government to address a growing backlog of dental care caused by Covid-19, with extractions across England plummeting by more than half.

Office for Health Improvement and Disparities figures show that around 15 children aged 19 or younger in Crawley had at least one tooth removed in hospital due to decay in 2020-21.

It meant around 50 in every 100,000 children in Crawley underwent a tooth extraction as a result of decaying teeth last year – down from 102 in 2019-20.

Sheffield had the highest rate of extractions due to decay, at 620 per 100,000, while Leicester had the lowest at 10.

Across England, 14,645 youngsters had rotten teeth removed compared to 35,190 before the pandemic.

Nationally, 22,549 tooth extractions were completed in 2020-21 – a 58% decrease from 55,137 the year prior.

The BDA warned the variation in teeth extraction rates highlights differing oral hygiene standards across the country, especially between deprived and affluent areas, and said the backlog caused by the pandemic will affect worse-off areas more.

Dr Charlotte Waite, chair of the BDA’s England Community Dental Services Committee, said: "The failure to tackle the backlog will hit those in our most deprived communities the hardest."

"It is the nation's poorest children who will feel the results as they struggle to eat, sleep and study."