‘National scandal’ declared after 2,800 children sent to A&E over severe tooth decay last year

A study has shown almost a third of five-year-olds are suffering from tooth decay - (Alamy/PA)

Almost three thousand children had tooth decay so severe they attended A&E last year, new data reveals.

MPs have called for an end to the “national scandal” facing NHS dental care, as new figures reveal that in some areas of the country, A&E attendances for tooth decay have risen 40-fold since 2019.