Dentists urge shock tactics on sugar

Dentists want tobacco-style warning labels to be included on sweet drinks and sugary foods, in a bid to raise awareness about the effects of tooth decay on children.

They say increasing numbers of young children are having to go into dental hospitals to have one or more teeth taken out under general anaesthetic.

But they believe pictures highlighting the risk posed to children's teeth could help put people off sugary products.

The call comes from Professor Nigel Hunt, dean of the dental faculty at the Royal College of Surgeons.

In an interview published by the Sunday Times, he says the number of children requiring a general anaesthetic for an extraction at dental hospitals is reaching crisis point.

He says each year dentists are administering nearly 26,000 general anaesthetics, so children aged between five and nine can have a tooth removed.

Professor Hunt says the strain many dental hospitals are under means youngsters have to wait up to six months to have a general anaesthetic.

Copyright Press Association 2015