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The figures attached of our work are on the whole, not too disappointing.
It is always well to give a "backward glance" as well as a "look ahead," to ascertain if
possible causes that militate against attaining the work results desired. The factors to be noted
are:—
1. Failure of the Committee to insist no boy or girl shall be admitted to these Schools,
unless he or she has obtained a Certificate of Dental efficiency, freedom from caries,
etc., from a Dental Clinic Officer, irrespective of where treatment was obtained. This
rule was strictly observed by a S.M.O. under whom I worked for some years. I was
selected as the testing D.O.—none got scholarship places till their mouth was in order ;
it is surprising how it decreased the number of misfit parents (objectors, chronic absentees,
etc.). 1 would recommend it to the Higher Education Committee as applicable
to such Schools in this district.
2. I can best describe the paragraph as " Shifting the Centre of Gravity."
Before the Great War, in dealing with matters concerning the Child, its health and
work, the llead of the family could be relied upon as the centre of gravity in home
affairs, to give decisions and implement them. After the war, the gravity centre
changed, and the Child of Secondary School age changed places, or usurped them,
with and from the parent, and gives the decisions now-a-days. Day by day, we have
evidence of this fact ; it is not an infrequent occurrence when advising a parent on
Dental matters, for the child to say " I don't want that done", or failing that, the
parent asks the child, "Would you like the tooth out?" etc. The result is usually
nothing done. I painfully record one recent case (Elementary School) where a parent
pathetically asked me what she should do, when her little girl about nine years of age
told her point blank she was going to have nothing done. Sad to say, the child won.
Nature has given some Mothers the blessed gift of child bearing, and forgotten to
endow them with a mental stiffening for the task of rearing them.
3. Want of co-operating by the child. Until we get co-operation from the child, it is
useless looking to the parent for it.
Our Consent Forms are usually returned to us, marked under " Own Dentist ", whereas
examination by a Clinic Dental Officer reveals much dental work is required, and
often old work requires renovation. In one School alone we had 178 such cases. The
answers can aptly be classed :—
" A lie that is all a lie
Can be met and fought outright,
But a lie that is part of a lie
Is a harder matter to fight."
Undoubtedly, many of these cases have been under a Dentist—for extraction of a
painful tooth, but very few for conservative work.
Headmasters and Headmistresses have done everything necessary to aid us in our work,
and many cases have helped to unravel unsatisfactory dental records. We on our side can
help them, since the S.M.O. has kindly extended our working hours, and we can offer by late
appointments, opportunities for missing very little School studies and consequent absences. The
extended hours thus prove a boon to Staff and Scholars.