NHS Hospitals Perform 56,000 Tooth Extractions on children in One Year

The dental health of children and teens in the UK continues to decline, with a huge surge in tooth extractions in 2025.

it has been reported that NHS hospitals performed 56,143 extractions on children and teenagers. This is a a rise of 14% of 49,112 in 2024, still a shocking number.

This works out to roughly one tooth extraction every nine minutes.

Of the total, 33,976 cases were linked to tooth decay as the primary cause—an increase of 11%.

These are shocking statistics and by offering your employees and their family dental insurance, you can help to protect their oral health. Plus avoid work absences as a result.

Health analysts suggested that the rise since 2021 may partly reflect NHS services catching up after the pandemic. However, the British Dental Association (BDA) argued that improving access to dental care remains a pressing issue.

Tooth decay accounted for 60.5% of all extractions among those under 19. The proportion was even higher in younger children, reaching 80% for those aged four and under, and 86.5% for children aged five to nine.

Tooth decay continues to be the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged five to nine. Data also showed that children and young people in the most deprived areas were over three times more likely to require tooth removal due to decay than those in more affluent communities.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England estimated that the figures equate to one child needing a tooth extraction due to decay every 15 minutes.

Dr Charlotte Eckhardt said tooth decay is leading to unnecessary pain, missed school, and avoidable hospital visits, with rates higher in 2025 than the previous year. She added that if the Government aims to overhaul NHS dental care by 2035, it must guarantee timely access to dentists for all children, regardless of where they live.

By offering your employees and their family access to regular dental care now, not in 2035, you are helping to preserve their overall oral health. All of our dental insurance plans include dental check-up and hygienist visits as standard, so you can rest assured thet they are getting the dental treatment they need. It is proven that access to regular dental check ups catches issues early on and helps to prevent issues escalating to need hospital treatment.