Surprisingly, tooth decay or rotting teeth is the biggest cause of hospitalization among primary school children, said the UK Health and Social Care Information Center.

The center revealed that some 26,000 primary school children were treated for tooth decay in the past year. This made tooth decay the most common reason youngsters are admitted to hospital.

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Some 500 children aged five to nine were hospitalized due to rotten teeth each week in 2013-14.

The number of hospital admissions for five to nine-year-olds with dental problems rose by more than 3,000 in just three years. This comes to 22,574 hospital admissions in 2010-11 and 25,812 in 2013-14.

In some cases, dentists were forced to remove all 20 baby teeth from a number of youngsters. Some pediatric dentists are dismayed by the need to resort to this drastic measure, which they believe is the result of sugary diets.

The astounding figures ignited louder calls for a crackdown on sugary drinks and fruit juices throughout the UK. The British Dental Health Foundation agreed, saying the surge in tooth decay all relates to the consumption of sugary drinks.

Dr. Kathryn Harley, a consultant in pediatric dentistry, noted that many children need four to eight teeth removed but that having 10 to 14 extracted is no longer uncommon these days.

She wants fruit juices to be banned in schools to prevent the problem worsening. She also pointed a finger at parents who were inadvertently responsible for the sad condition of their children's teeth.

NHS England said parents of young children should discourage them from drinking sugary drinks since this can lead to tooth decay.

Tonsillitis was the second most common reason for children aged 5 to 9 being admitted to hospital. There were 11,522 tonsillitis cases in 2012-13.