Over 70 children a day are having teeth removed because of decay amid warnings the country’s dental system is broken.
Latest NHS England figures show there were 26,741 hospital operations to remove children's teeth in 2021-33, equivalent to 73 every day.
This is almost double the 14,645 that took place in the year before.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on ministers to increase the number of dentists to ensure that families are able to access regular check-ups.
Medics have warned that many of the tooth extractions were preventable as they are caused by the food and drink consumed by children.
The figures reveal a stark divide, with 10,385 of the operations involving children from the most deprived fifth of families. There were just 2,350 among the wealthiest fifth.
There was also a disparity between different parts of the country. Sheffield had the most with 1,145 children needing operations for tooth decay last year, followed by Manchester (695), Leeds (590) and Doncaster (500).
The Liberal Democrats, who uncovered the figures, are calling for an emergency scheme to ensure children, pregnant women and young mothers have access to their free dental check-ups on time.
The party also wants to increase the number of dentist training places in the UK and continued recognition of EU trained dentists’ qualifications.
Liberal Democrats health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper criticised Jeremy Hunt for failing to even mention the word “dentist” in the Budget this week.
She said: “These shocking figures show far too many children are struggling to see an NHS dentist when they need to.
“This Conservative government’s appalling record on NHS dentistry is leaving children in pain and distress. It shows our NHS dental system is completely broken.
“There are dental deserts in large parts of the country where it’s almost impossible to get an NHS dental appointment.
“There was deafening silence in this week’s Budget on action to fix this dentist crisis. It shows the Conservatives are completely out of touch and just don’t care.
“They need to listen to our calls for an emergency scheme to ensure children have access to their free check ups on time.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The number of children seen by NHS dentists increased by 43.6% last year and there are over 500 more dentists practising in the NHS.
“We are investing more than £3 billion a year into dentistry and have already implemented additional measures to improve access.
“We recognise there is more to do and we will soon be announcing further measures to improve access to dentists.”
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