Theoretically, it should be possible for the vast majority of children to pass through the phase from birth to the time they naturally lose their deciduous (baby) teeth without any decay, fillings or extractions. However, this is not the reality. Rotten and decaying baby teeth have come to be accepted as part of childhood development in the UK. The last National Children's Dental Health Survey (Office for National Statistics, 2008) recorded a 40% decay rate in under-fives with a marked prevalence of tooth decay in children who were socially and economically disadvantaged.
Most British dentists have experience of filling or extracting deciduous teeth from young children.
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