Four-year-old girl has 16 teeth removed after stunned dentist discovers mouth ravaged by tooth decay

A warning was issued yesterday (Fri) after a four-year-old girl had 16 out of 20 baby teeth removed due to decay

A four-year-old girl was forced to have almost all of her teeth removed after her mouth was ravaged by tooth decay.

The youngster, who has not been named, was taken to a dentist by her mum after the child began having trouble eating and barely spoke.

When the dentist open the child's mouth, they were stunned to discover the level of decay inside.The child's mother, who has also not been named, said that until she was three she had drunk milk from a bottle fairly regularly throughout he day and night.

While this had now stopped, she was aware that her daughter's teeth were in a bad state. It was decided that the child would be referred to Bristol Dental Hospital for extraction of all the decayed teeth under general anaesthetic.

The child had gone in with 20 teeth, but during the course of the visit had 16 of them pulled out due to the horrific state of them.

The anonymous case study in contained in a council report which reveals that dental health among children under five is linked to the area where they live.

It shows that children in poorer areas are much more likely to suffer from tooth decay and need fillings. The report adds that one in four children aged under five in the city suffer from tooth decay - and yet it is "entirely preventable".

The main cause of tooth decay in young children is too much sugar in their diet and failure to clean their teeth regularly.

The easiest way to prevent decay is to use toothpaste which contains fluoride and to have regular dental check ups.

It's an offence to give a child a slap but not to  put them through the agony of dental decay.