HC Deb 11 May 2004 vol 421 c310W
Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under the age of 18 were given mercury fillings in England(a) in 2004 up to the latest date for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last five years. [169589]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The table shows the number of children under the age of 18 who were given mercury fillings in the general dental service (GDS) in England.

Number of individual children given mercury fillings in the GDS
Year ending March Number of individual children treated
2000 528,193
2001 520,845
2002 510,202
2003 503,129
2004 494,257
Source:
Dental Practice Board

The figures do not includes mercury fillings given in other dental services such as the personal dental service, community dental services and hospital dental services.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged under 18 years had the removal of wisdom teeth funded by the NHS in 2003–04. [169637]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The most recent information on the number of children aged under 18 years who had the removal of wisdom teeth funded by the national health service in 2003–04 in England and Wales is shown in the table. The figures cover patients treated in the general dental service, personal dental service and hospital dental service.

Number of patients aged under 18 who had a wisdom tooth

extracted during the year ending March 2004

Number of patients
General dental service or personal dental service patients 12,047
Hospital dental service patients 2724
1 In England and Wales 2003–04.
2 In England 2002–03.
Source:
Dental Practice Board and Hospital Episode Statistics.

The figures do not cover those patients treated in the community dental service.