View report page

92
Dental Treatment.—The Council's Dentist, Mr. G. F.
Ferris, L.D.S., R.C.S. (Eng.), attends at the Tuberculosis
Dispensary, Maze Hill, once a fortnight to deal with cases under
the purview of the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee,
which are referred to him by the Medical Officers of the Clinics.
Extractions, scalings and such minor conditions are dealt with
free, but when the provision of teeth is necessary, the Dentist
draws up an estimate, the patient is assessed a certain amount,
and assistance from outside sources is obtained as far as
possible. The matter is then brought to the notice of the
Assistance Sub-Committee to decide how much the Council shall
give towards making up this amount, and for this purpose the
sum of £60 per annum is set aside in this Committee's estimates.
The Dentist reports as follows:—
In submitting my Report for the year 1925-1926, I
would again urge the necessity of a clean mouth during
pregnancy, as this has a far-reaching effect upon the organs
of the mother and baby. Obstetricians believe it not only
possible, but highly probable that complications such as
still-birth, deformity and hæmorrhagic disease of the newborn,
can be traced to a septic mouth. It has been proved
that bacteria can pass from the mother to the baby before
birth (e.g. Spirochæto Pallida) and if this is possible with
one kind of bacteria, surely other varieties may gain access
to the child provided that there is lack of resistance and a
virulent organism present.
Correct dental treatment and careful observation during
the pre-natal period will do much to reduce the heavy
death-rate in mothers and babies. Extreme care both in
discovering the foci of infection and in the method used
for their eradication is also required.
It is very necessary that the mother should attend the
dentist in the early months of pregnancy so that he can
keep her gums in good condition and prevent the advance
of caries and pyorrhoea, which are so much aggravated
by the pregnant state. But while agreeing that no septic
teeth should be in the mother's head during confinement,
I would point out that if the mother attends the
Maternity Centre during the last two months of pregnancy,
it is far better to leave a dormant infection undisturbed.
The danger of lighting up an acute infection is too great
at this stage. I would therefore suggest that when possible,
patients presenting themselves for treatment during the last
months of pregnancy, should have their treatment left until