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82
ersuading their parents, previously classified as "Refusals" to
consent to dental treatment at subsequent routine inspections.
It has been found that if a parent definitely promises to bring a child
for completion of treatment, the promise is generally kept, provided
always that the interval between the immediate extraction and the
next appointment does not exceed one week.
It is very desirable that the Dental Inspection of school children
should be carried out at least once each year so that dental disease
may be detected and treated while still in its initial stage. That
this is still impossible in Enfield is due to the large number of
children referred for conservative treatment, and the high proportion
of fillings to extractions. In the year under review 599
permanent fillings were inserted for every 100 permanent teeth
extracted. A number of the permanent teeth extracted were sound
teeth removed for regulation purposes, and if these were deducted
from the total number extracted, the ratio of fillings to extractions
would be a little higher than the figure given.

The number of children referred for treatment at Routine
Inspection depends very largely on the standard of dental fitness
required before exempting a child from treatment. In Enfield