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dental service, post-graduate training is the obvious answer for
he/she will be aware of current practices and few problems of
interpretation, if any, should present themselves to an experienced
up-to-date dental officer. In the case of the recently qualified
dental surgeon or one accepting a temporary post in child dentistry
prior to migrating into another possibly more remunerative branch
of dental practice, the solution is more complex. Concomitantly,
there is the question as to who is to be responsible ultimately for
the adoption of higher standards of dental care not only with regard
to the individual patient but also for the ensuing clinical reputation
and productivity of the service. As is well known, there is a
general scarcity of dental surgeons seeking permanent careers in
children's dentistry but the geographical position of this Borough
renders the situation here even more difficult. Where dental officers
remain "in post" for several years the problem tends not to be so
acute but where in the course of its school life a child has of
necessity, to be treated by successive dental officers, the need for a
unified approach to preserve continuity of standards becomes
significant.
Dental Health Education
Our aim of ensuring that children leave school free from dental
disease or irregularity requiries no comment other than approval.
At the anxious time of becoming a full member of the community,
in addition to being dentally fit, the child should be in possession
of the simple facts concerning dental disease, its cause and prevention.
This applies in all communities but particularly in areas
such as ours where the school dental service can consider itself
comprehensive only for the younger age groups. Indeed, in such
areas it is even more important to establish preventive dentistry
at as early an age as possible.
Measures taken in this Borough with regard to dental health
education are outlined below:—
1. Before School Dental Inspection
Initial visit by Principal School Dental Officer to Head Teacher
outlining causative factors of dental disease in children and the
effective simple preventive measures at our disposal. Practical
discussion of preventive steps such as water after meals, the
abolition of carbohydrates in tuck-shops and the discouragement
of in-between-meal snacks. Presentation of our own dental
health education literature and placing a supply for pupils and
parents at the Head Teacher's disposal. Suggestion of twice
weekly one minute "question-and-answers" as part of the school
curriculum to establish constant repetition of the main theme.