Hundreds of children are having to undergo urgent operations every year to tackle decaying and diseased teeth.

One in 11 children admitted to Sussex hospitals are being treated for tooth decay, serious cavities and other dental problems.

This includes root canal treatment, draining abscesses and extracting the most seriously damaged and diseased teeth.

Figures uncovered using the Freedom of Information Act reveal an average of 9% of under 18s given a local or general anaesthetic at the county's hospitals between April 2009 and the end of March had dental work carried out.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, carried out 487 operations on teeth out of a total of 6,048 operations in general.

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Worthing Hospital and St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, had 284 dental procedures out of 2,911 operations.

East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust carried out 2,379 procedures over the year and 257 of those were on teeth.

The figures have renewed concerns about the state of children's teeth in the county and also reignited the controversial debate on adding fluoride to tap water.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority, which covers Sussex, Surrey and Kent, currently has no plans to introduce it.

But some health workers believe the move is necessary to help children in the most deprived areas, where youngsters have the highest levels of tooth decay, such as parts of East Brighton, Littlehampton and Hastings.

Garry Peltzer Dunn, the chairman of Brighton and Hove's health overview and scrutiny committee, said the figures were concerning.