Doctors and dentists are calling for urgent action to reduce the number of children needing to have rotten teeth removed under general anaesthetic in hospital.
Nearly 26,000 children, aged five to nine, were admitted to hospital in England in 2013-14, an increase of 14% from 2011, with tooth decay.
The Royal College of Surgeons says many hospitals are reaching "crisis point" managing the number of children.
The government says children's dental health has improved in the past decade. But Prof Nigel Hunt, dean of the Royal College of Surgeons' dental faculty, believes more needs to be done.
A report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) published earlier this year showed tooth decay was the most common reason five to nine-year-olds were admitted to hospital.
The report says there may be several reasons for this rise in treatment, including children not seeing a dentist until it is too late or more children not brushing their teeth properly. It is tragic that over 90% of the cases are preventable.
Image: Partha S Sahana, Flickr
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