“Youngsters are going to grow up missing teeth and having to wear a denture”

It appears the news is set to continue, with Mervyn Druian, a former NHS dentist who now practises privately, telling The Telegraph that the state of children’s NHS dentistry is “a scandal that has been ignored. In 35 years, I’ve never known it so bad. Youngsters are going to grow up missing teeth and having to wear a denture to replace them. It is a tragedy that a first world country is providing a dental service that would embarrass a third world country.”

With 2,000 dentists leaving the NHS in 2021, an increase of 951 from the previous year, it is clear that there is a growing shortage of dentists. However, the news outlet also explains that “This month, research by University College London revealed children are eating three times the amount of sugar they should be by age seven, with fruit juices and smoothies – which parents often assume are healthy – making up the greatest share of sugar in their diets.”