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VII.—DENTAL TREATMENT.
In my report for the year 1925, reasons were given why the
question of the care of the teeth is of such great importance. It
was pointed out there that poisons are manufactured by carious
and pyorrhoeic teeth and these poisons get into the system,
causing rheumatism and many other diseases. Mr. Grantley
Smith has given a very full dental report, and the number of
patients attending the clinic is steadily increasing. Probably,
the greatest difficulty to be encountered is to get parents to bring
up the very young children. There is an idea prevalent that it
does not matter what happens to the milk teeth, but these,
although they are not permanent, require just as much care as
the others, because an enormous amount of mischief may be done
in the first six or seven years of life through defective primary
teeth.
An important development in the Dental Department was
the re-opening of the clinic at 98 Rotherhithe New Road. It has
been found that patients from Rotherhithe were often unwilling
to undertake the long journey up to the Grange Road clinic. As
the former clinic has only just restarted, I shall reserve any
further remarks on the subject for the next annual report.
Mr. Grantley Smith's Report:—
"I have the honour to submit the sixth annual report for the
work carried out at the Dental Treatment Centre.
"I have to record that, with the exception of maternity
cases and tuberculosis patients, the numbers treated have increased.
"The new centre at 98 Rotherhithe New Road was opened
on November 17th, its staff consisting of a half-time dental
surgeon and nurse. The progress of this centre is slow at first,
but at the moment of writing, it is showing considerable signs that
its existence is justified. Its existence, too, does not affect the
amount of work coming in at the centre at 110 Grange Road.
Here the staff is very fully occupied, and an additional dental
mechanic is necessary.