More or Less - Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Download Are bad teeth the number one reason kids go to A&E?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

(00:33) Are crumbling teeth the number one reason children attend A&E? We drill down into the dental health of the nation’s kids.

(08:20) The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has claimed that a quarter of pharmaceuticals used in the UK come from Israel. We check the facts.

(13:20) Is former Education Secretary Michael Gove responsible for increasing number of young people not in education, employment or training?

(20:11) An AI researcher has caused a global firestorm by suggesting there’s more than a 10% chance AI kills all humans within the next decade. We explore the rigorous maths (or lack thereof) behind these kinds of predictions.

Guests:
Dr Chris Vernazza - head of the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University
Daisy Christodoulou - Director of Education at No More Marketing
Dr Alexandru Marcoci - Assistant Professor of Global Risk and Resilience at the University of Cambridge

Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Reporter: Lizzy McNeill
Producers: Nathan Gower, Phoebe Keane
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill

Published on Wednesday, 16th September 2026.

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