BSPD responds to reports of pandemic child tooth extractions data

However, a reduction in the number of children undergoing dental treatment under general anaesthesia was inevitable given that specialist teams were redeployed, and theatre spaces repurposed to support the nation-wide covid-response.

Our members, many of whom were redeployed to support the covid response, are working hard to recover children’s dental services equitably and fairly but this will take time. In some regions teams are working at 180 per cent of pre-covid capacity as the profession strives to reduce the currently unacceptable waiting times for procedures under general anaesthesia.

In November 2020, national guidelines were issued on ‘Surgical Prioritisation for Children and Young People Requiring Paediatric Dental Treatment Under General Anaesthetic’. This guide gives clear categorisation of urgent and less urgent oral health conditions to support paediatric dentists on how to assess and prioritise children and young people.