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The object of the Sub-Committee is to complete the co-ordination of the
Borough Council with the voluntary welfare Centres, and to deal with problems
of maternity and child welfare from the point of view of the borough
as a whole. The first meeting was held on 29th November, 1917, and they
have since made recom nendations to the Council in respect of the many important
matters con erning this subject, including; dental treatment and the
supply of food for mothers and young children, and have been given
executive as well as advisory functions.
Dental Treatment of Mothers and Young Children.
This was one of the first matters considered by the Maternity and Child
Welfare Advisory Sub-Committee. Towards the end of the year they asked
for a report on the subject from the Medical Officer of Health, which was
submitted to them in the following terms at their first meeting in the New
Year.
9th January, 1918.
To the Chairman and Members of the Maternity and Child
Welfare Advisory Sub-Committee.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the first meeting of your Suli-Committee the question of the provision of
dental treatment for mothers and children attending the various Maternity and
Child Welfare Centres in the Borough was discussed, and I was asked to submit
a report on the subject, which I now do.
The Need.—Of the urgency of the need for such treatment there is no doubt.
The experience of physicians at the Centres show s that the majority of expectant
and nursing mothers attending there are suffering from dental decay and its
consequences. A great deal of ill-health is caused to the mothers by these
conditions, and there is very good evidence that the infants in some cases suffer
owing to the dental condition of the mothers. In regard to the children's own
teeth, the bad dental state of children entering the public elementary schools is
notorious, only a very small percentage having sound teeth. The affected teeth in
children below school age are "temporary" teeth, but the dental decay is not
negligible on that account, for in addition to immediate ill-health it is held by those
who have studied the question that damage to the permanent teeth may be caused
by it. The decay seen in the teeth of school children begins while they are still of
an age to atten.d the infant welfare centres, and it is then that proper treatment
would save the teeth and perhaps prevent life-long injury.
Existing Facilities.—In dental treatment a distinction must be made between
(a) extractions, (b) conservative treatment ("stoppings"), and (c) the provision of
dentures (artificial teeth).