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time in 1935, and 15 of these were children under school age.

In addition to these cases Dr. Friel has treated a large number
of children for defects of hearing due to catarrh of the middle ear,
nasal catarrh and nasal obstruction mostly due to deflected nasal
septum. The nasal obstruction is satisfactorily dealt with in some
of these cases by zinc electrolysis of the inferior turbinal, and in
other cases excellent results are got by diastolisation, a method of
treatment which reduces the inflammatory condition of the nasal
passages, enabling the child to breathe more freely and so reducing
the catarrh which is so often a cause of defective hearing.
(e) Dental Defects.
The work done by the School Dental Surgeon during the year
is shown in detail in Table V. It will be seen that the scheme of
dental inspection covers practically the whole elementary school
population, so that dental treatment is available for every child
during his elementary school life. Every effort has been made,
as in previous years, to concentrate as far as possible on conservative
treatment, and to discourage the casual case which only wishes to
attend for extractions at a stage when the affected teeth are no longer
saveable. It will be seen that, so far as permanent teeth are concerned,
the ratio of fillings to extractions is very satisfactory, 2,717
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