We have the rending of garments over the rise in the number of children who are having teeth extracted in hospital. This is being blamed on both a decline in the amount of money on offer to dentists and the rise in the amount of sugar in the nation’s diet. The problem with the story? There’s less sugar in the nation’s diet, kiddies’ teeth are better than they have been for centuries and there’s no rise in extractions. Instead there’s a rise in extractions “in hospital”. This coming as a result of a rule change which means that extractions requiring a general anaesthetic must be done in hospital, not in a dental surgery.
That is, while the number is true the story’s a lie, lie, lie.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Growing numbers of children with tooth decay are being admitted to hospital, damning figures show. More than 26,000 children aged five to nine were taken to hospital in the past year because of rotten teeth, NHS figures have revealed. The number has risen for the second year in a row and is more than double the amount of children who needed treatment for tonsillitis. Experts say the figures are ‘disgraceful’ and have blamed the UK’s sugar obsession for ruining children’s teeth as well as fuelling rising levels of childhood obesity. [/perfectpullquote]Ooops, sorry, that’s from the last rerun of this story a couple of months ago. Here’s today’s:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] There were more than 45,000 hospital operations to remove teeth from teenagers and children last year – equating to 180 each working day, figures show. The statistics have led council leaders to call for immediate action to tackle sugar consumption, with youngsters in the UK the biggest consumers of soft drinks in Europe – with two out of five (40%) 11 to 15-year-olds drinking sugary drinks at least once a day. The Local Government Association, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, said the figures – up by 18% in the past six years – are likely to reflect poor oral hygiene as well as the excessive consumption of sugary food and drinks. [/perfectpullquote]The Local Government Association? Why are they commenting upon paediatric dentistry?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]More children having teeth out in hospital in England[/perfectpullquote]The BBC manages to get the headline correct, for that is indeed happening. They wander with the story just like everyone else tho’:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Dentists have accused the government of having a “short-sighted” approach to tooth decay in England after hospital operations to remove children’s teeth increased to nearly 43,000. There were 42,911 operations in 2016-17 – up from 40,800 the previous year and 36,833 in 2012-13, NHS figures show. The British Dental Association said England had a “second-class” dental service compared to Wales and Scotland. The government said it was “determined” to reduce the number of extractions. Doctors said many of the tooth extractions would be caused by the food and drink children consume and were therefore “completely preventable”. Dental surgeon Claire Stevens, who works in a hospital in north-west England, said most of her patients were aged five to nine, but it was not uncommon to remove all 20 baby teeth from a two-year-old because of decay. [/perfectpullquote]Ooops. sorry, that’s from the last but one rerun of the story, back in January. So, as always when we’re looking for the truth on a health scare, we turn to Chris Snowdon:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The proportion of 5 year olds who have had teeth removed due to decay was 2.5%, compared to 3.5% in 2008 – about 2,000 fewer children.[/perfectpullquote]Read more there, obviously, for he shows that dental decay is down, kiddies’ teeth are better than they used to be etc.
So, how can we have this rise in extractions?
Because of that qualifier, “in hospital”. The rules changed. It used to be that a general anaesthetic could be administered by the dentist in the chair in his surgery. Now, it requires the presence of an anaesthesiologist. So, it’s not done in the dental surgery. Such patients are packed off to hospital where they’ve got anaesthesiologists on tap and the extraction is done there.
Which is how we get better dental health, fewer extractions, yet more cries for more control over how much sugar we eat. That is, they’re lying for propaganda purposes. The scum. Actually, the lying fascist scum but let’s not go there, eh, given that we have to pay these lying fascist scum out of the taxes lifted from our pockets.
When I had four teeth out in the 1980s (too many teeth, jaw too small) the dentists had travelling anaesthetists who would go around the practices. It would be common for dentist’s signs to say things like “Mon-Fri 9-5, Thu late-8, Fri anaesthetist”.
So….. what the hell’s an anaesthesiologist? Is like getting rid of midwives and medicalising it into doctorate-holding pediatric thingy wotsits?
I think it has always been a requirement to have an anaesthetist in attendance for a general anaesthetic. However a dental surgery does not have the same facilities and staff on hand for resuscitation in the event of complications.
It seems likely the rule change for paediatric cases may be in view of that, or maybe the requirement is to have a paediatric anaesthetist for children, more likely to be hospital based. This would not be so easy for a dental practice to have a regular gas-man and a specialist too.