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60
In the first survey, an examination of 52 five-year-old boys
and girls in an infant school in an area of high socio-economic
status in Kensington, revealed an average of 2.1 decayed, extracted
or filled (d.e.f.) temporary teeth per child. 170 boys and girls
aged 7 to 11 years, comprising the junior department of the same
school had an average of 1.4 decayed, missing,, or filled (D.M.F.)
permanent teeth per child.
In the second survey, an examination of 45 girls aged 10 and
11 years, comprising the senior girls' classes of another primary
school in the same area, showed that 11 (approximately 25 per cent)
had orthodontic conditions requiring correction. All these
children would have benefited, from the point of view of appearance
or function, from treatment, but it was interesting to note that
only one child was actually wearing an orthodontic appliance at the
time. It might be expected that the parents of children in this
district would have sought treatment for this type of condition,
though the general scarcity of facilities for orthodontic treatment
in all three branches of the health service may have had a bearing
on the high prevalence of un-treated cases.
The third survey involved a comparision of dental decay and
diseases of the gums in 373 girls aged 11 to 14 years in e senior
school in an area of relatively lower socio-economic status in
North Kensington. Over one-third of the children examined were
immigrants, mostly of West Indian origin.
In the 13 and 14 year old age range (182 girls) the Europeans
in the school had an average of 5.90 D.M.F. teeth and the negroes
an average of 4.67, and the percentage of European girls who had
experienced dental decay at some time (96%) was significantly
higher than the percentage of negroes (77%). A statistical
comparison of the ratios of restored teeth to the total number of
teeth showing evidence of attack however, indicated that the negro
girls made relatively less use of the available local dental
services than the Europeans and probably had a less favourable
attitude to conservative dental treatment.
The prevalence of diseases of the gums was ascertained for
the full sample of 373 girls, and although it was found that the
overall proportions of girls in the European and negro groups
showing unmistakable evidence of inflammation of the gums
(gingivitis) was nearly the same (around 79%) a significantly
higher proportion of the negro group (45% compared with 24% for
the Europeans) showed evidence of gingival inflammation which had
progressed to destruction of the bone supporting the teeth
(periodontitis).
The higher prevalence of past and present dental decay in
the Europeans was probably accounted for by a greater amount of
sugar in their diet, while the greater severity of gum diseases
in the negroes probably resulted from a poorer standard of oral
hygiene.
Comparison of the figures for dental disease levels obtained
in these surveys with available information on national averages
should be made with caution, since the methods used in the collection
of officially quoted data were not necessarily the same. The
diagnosis of dental diseases is notoriously subject to great examiner
variation and official data are collected from many independent
sources.