Yorkshire & Humber – Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admission for children aged five to nine in England. The latest government figures show Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest rate in the country for hospital tooth extractions caused by decay.
In 2024-25, the rate of hospital tooth extractions for 0 to 19-year-olds in the region was 504 per 100,000. The England average was 251 per 100,000.
In total, there were 33,976 hospital tooth extraction episodes for children and young people in England in 2024-25 where the primary diagnosis was tooth decay.
National survey data shows 22.4 per cent of five-year-olds in England have experienced obvious dental decay. Of the teeth identified as decayed, 81.4 per cent had not been treated.
Among older primary-age children, Yorkshire and the Humber also recorded the highest levels of dental problems. In the 2023 year 6 oral health survey, 23.3 per cent of children in the region had experienced dental decay. The same survey recorded the highest levels of advanced dental decay signs at 3.1 per cent and substantial plaque at 23.0 per cent.
The data shows a clear link with deprivation. Children in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to have experienced dental decay as those in the least deprived areas. Hospital extraction rates for children and young people in the most deprived communities are just over three times higher than those in the least deprived.
In the East Riding, 52.1 per cent of children attended an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months in 2023-24. The England figure was 55.4 per cent. The number of dentists carrying out some NHS activity in the East Riding was 30 per 100,000 population.
East Riding of Yorkshire did not take part in the most recent national survey of five-year-olds’ oral health, meaning there is no current local result for younger children in the area.