Rotorua kids' teeth rotting from fizzy drink

A photo of a two year old child's eroded teeth, with the nerve of the teeth bleeding. This is before any teeth were removed. Photo/Supplied

Kids as young as 2 are drinking Coke and juice out of sippy cups, with a local dentist saying fizzy drinks are a big concern when it comes to children's dental health.

The most recent annual Lakes District Health Board figures available showed 78 preschoolers (0-4 years old) had at least one tooth removed at hospital in the year, 414 had tooth-coloured restoration and 136 had other restorative dental services. There were 27 procedures for dental caries - rotten teeth.

In total, preschoolers were discharged from hospital 707 times for dental services in Lakes DHB in the last full year statistics were available, the 2013/14 year.

Many children also attend private, community or school clinics for their dental work.

Experts point the finger of childhood tooth decay squarely at sugary drinks.

When the Rotorua Daily Post spoke with Dr Rob Beaglehole, New Zealand Dental Association spokesman based in Nelson, he said he was just about to take teeth out of a 3-year-old.

"It's a standard case. A 3-year-old who drinks sugary drinks too much and needs multiple teeth taken out. She's in pain, she's got abscesses, so we're going to have to give her a general anaesthetic," Dr Beaglehole said.

"We did about 250 of these last year. It'll cost the taxpayer about $4000.

"It's a noticeable jump primarily because the sugary drink consumption is going up. It's not just cakes and [fizzy drinks], it's also the juices and chocolate milk that are causing a lot of problems."

He said it's one of the most common reasons children are admitted to hospital in New Zealand, and can harm them in the following years. It makes it difficult to eat, can cause pain, can cause adult teeth to grow through out of place, and can affect self-confidence.

Alison Craig, Lakes Plunket clinical leader, said young kids at 2 or 3 were drinking fizzy and juices out of sippy cups.

"It's not very good. We see quite a bit of decay," Ms Craig said.

"Sometimes people are trying to be nice to their children by giving them things that are tasty and nice . . . It's parental choice."

Rotorua dentist Dr Stewart Edward said sugary drinks were the main concern for kids' teeth because of the ease of access.

"It's understanding the importance of the diet, the role sugar in the breakdown of particularly primary teeth, and fizzy drinks.

"The fundamental message is the importance of people knowing there's free dentistry from the age of 2, so the important message . . . is that make sure you've got that early enrolment because you want to have your child seen at 2.

Dr Beaglehole said sugary drinks must be regulated like tobacco had been in order to reduce harm.

"Sugary drinks are the new tobacco in terms of how we deal with them - taxation, advertising bans and getting them out of schools."

Lakes DHB portfolio manager for Maternal, Child and Youth Health, Pip King, said "significant" work was being undertaken to improve children and young adults' oral health.

"Lakes DHB children have poorer oral health than children in most other areas in New Zealand," Ms King said.

"There are some children where it is necessary to bring them into hospital to have their teeth done due to severe decay and other medical reasons."

She said in 2016/17, there have so far been 52 dental caries, zero non-surgical teeth removals, and zero tooth-coloured restorations.