- Even babies younger than ONE year old are having tooth extractions.
- 90 per cent of tooth decay is preventable with reduced sugar and better dental habits.
The Royal College of Surgeons, which compiled NHS data released earlier this year, blames sugar for the surge in tooth extractions since 2006.
Between 2015 and 2016, kids aged four and younger had 9,206 tooth extractions on their baby teeth. You can read more of the horrifying findings here.
“When you see the numbers tallied up like this, it becomes abundantly clear that the sweet habits of our children are having a devastating effect on the state of their teeth,” said lead researcher Prof Nigel Hunt.
“Children can eat their daily amount of sugar at mealtimes with no problem, but constantly snacking between meals and bathing their teeth in fizzy drinks gives them no chance.”
With 90 per cent of tooth decay preventable by limiting sugar and improving dental care, the sugar tax can’t come too soon for the UK. Hopefully, the next 10 years will reverse the trend.
Shocked by these stats as much as we are? Join our petition for an Australian sugar tax: http://change.org/SugarTaxAU/.