Falling into decay: the sorry state of our children's teeth

Good morning members — and welcome to Thursday’s Tribune.

Which toothbrush should you use? To floss, or not to floss? And should we all be knocking back mouthwash on a daily basis? When it comes to mouth care, there’s a range of views out there. But our data journalist Daniel Timms has been looking at some stats this week that should concern us all — showing the sorry state of many of the city's children's teeth. That's our main story today, but first your briefing and things to do this week.

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Your Tribune briefing

🚅 The government say they are “committed” to ensuring three fast trains travel between Sheffield and Manchester every hour after it was revealed that despite recent upgrades, only two will make the journey for the foreseeable future. Lib Dem councillors have previously voiced concerns that the additional service may not ever materialise. The rail minister said that in the meantime they wanted to make sure the two trains an hour were more reliable.

🍺 Sheffield Council has been urged to scrap an “absurd” ban on advertising zero alcohol beers. The British Beer and Pub Association said the decision to ban ads deemed to be "harmful to health and environment" on council-owned hoardings was "misguided", while the ban on zero alcohol drinks was "absurd". However, some suggest that allowing firms to advertise zero alcohol versions of products means they can circumvent advertising rules. 

📚 Rotherham-based literacy charity Grimm and Co is celebrating after moving into a new home which they say will allow them to triple the amount of work they do with children and families. The Emporium of Stories, which is in the former Talbot Lane Methodist Church opposite the Town Hall, will host sessions for schools, festivals and weekend workshops all aimed at building resilience, literacy skills, self-esteem and aspirations through stories.

Things to do

🥁 On Friday, join Sheffield Jazz for another evening of turtle-necked toe tapping at Crookes Social Club. As well as the legendary eponymous drummer, the Clark Tracey Quintet are made up of saxophonist Alex Clarke and bassist James Owston, who are both past finalists in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, rising star vocalist Emily Masser and hugely experienced pianist Graham Harvey. Tickets are priced £5-£17 and doors open at 8pm.

👗 On Saturday, haute couture comes to Sheffield Cathedral as the Hendricks Foundation brings The Émerveiller Fashion Show to the beautiful and historic building. The show will include 24 brands and designers, including a show-stopping headliner from Sheffield, while the cathedral will be transformed with a candlelit runway. There will also be a captivating ballet performance and live music. Tickets are priced £15-£25 and doors open at 5pm.

🛍️ On Sunday, Sheffield Action on Plastic will be hosting Sheffield's first plastic free market at Trafalgar Warehouse (10.30am-4pm). A “one-stop shop” for helping you to reduce your single-use plastics, the market will include a huge array of products from local businesses, delicious food and drink and live music. But please be aware, the market is genuinely plastic free so you will need to bring your own reusable bags, bottles, cups, containers and cutlery.

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Falling into decay: the sorry state of our children's teeth

Like all the best tips, the information was given to me in a pub. But this wasn’t a sordid secret about one of our elected representatives, or allegations of bullying at a reputable local business. My companion and I are data journalists — we tend to steer clear of all that stuff. “Have you looked at the numbers on Sheffield’s children’s teeth?” he asked me. 

I hadn’t. A new dataset! What a rush. I got home and dived down the rabbit hole. It didn’t take long for me to see why he’d brought it to my attention.

The chart below shows the rate of hospital-based tooth extractions among 0-19 year olds in local authorities across England. These are children and adolescents whose teeth have decayed to the point where the tooth needs to be taken out, and is drawn from a dataset of hospital episode statistics.

You’ll notice that Sheffield doesn’t just lead the pack. It positively romps home. In 2023, more than one tooth was pulled in hospital for every one hundred children — the only place this is true. The rates are more than 3.5 times the English average. 

And that’s just for 2023, which was not a blip. The 2022 data shows Sheffield once again topping the charts. South Yorkshire looks like it has a particular problem — Doncaster and Rotherham also make the top ten, with Barnsley just outside it.

Tooth extraction is a fairly extreme measure. In the first instance, decay should be treated with fluoride mouthwashes, fluoride varnish, diet advice and oral hygiene. The next step would be to use fillings to stop the decay setting in further. It’s only when the decay has set deep into the nerve of the tooth that the final step — removing the tooth altogether — has to be taken. Without action, pain and abscesses are the likely result (root canal treatments are rarely carried out on children).

So why are so many kids’ teeth being pulled in Sheffield’s hospitals? And, more importantly, what can we do to change it?