Up to five times more children have teeth taken out in hospital here under general anaesthetic than in the UK.

10 thousand under-15s undergo these operations annually.

The Irish Dental Association says many of the children are waiting up to 12 months for treatment and they may be prescribed multiple courses of antibiotics before they're admitted.

Cutbacks are being cited as one of the reasons as well as poor dental care at a young age.

Dr Anne Twomey, President of the Irish Dental Association, thinks the high figure is due to cutbacks: