The British Dental Health Foundation said some parents were not paying enough attention to the importance of their child’s teeth.
Three years ago 22,574 children aged five to nine were admitted for rotting teeth, but provisional figures for the year beginning April 2013 show they have climbed to 25,812.
Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show the next biggest cause of hospital admissions among the age group was tonsillitis, with 11,522.
Fizzy sugar drinks, smoothies and fruit..