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135
such fields is justified on the grounds that it is necessary to support
the proposition of "Own Teeth for Life" by stating the causes and
offering suggestions as to their removal. These may be summarised
in a word mnemonic BEST which is used locally with considerable
success:—
B — Brushing—How? When?
E — Eggtiming—Minimum brushing time 2½ minutes.
S — Swish and Swallow—three mouthfuls of water after all
food and drink.
T — Tongue—Acquiring the habit of running the tongue
from gums over the teeth.
It is essential that such a routine should not degenerate into a
token ritual but rather that it be implemented by a patient being
made fully aware of the reasons for its adoption.
No dissertation on "teeth for life" could possibly be complete
without introducing the subject of "fluoridation" about which
there is absolute unanimity in its ability to reduce tooth decay.
Equally well supported is the view that maximal benefit is derived
only in cases where the intake of fluoridated water dates from the
period of tooth formation although there is less accord as to the
means whereby nature achieves this object. Suffice to say that
induration of tooth enamel improves and its resistance to acids
is made greater with the result that teeth become less prone to
decay. Further support for the fluoridation viewpoint, if needed,
is contained in a 1970 publication by the New York State Department
of Health which refers to a six-year study contrasting time
and cost factors involved in regular dental care between children
in a town with a fluoridated water supply and one without—the
latter proving to be twice as costly.
If the present Report varies from the conventional pattern it is
because, as far as this Borough's dental services are concerned,
little can be added to what has already been detailed previously.
The service continues to be most mindful of its duties and responsibilities
as well as to the utter inadequacy of its resources.
Dentistry, probably one of medicine's least glamorous or mysterious
branches, is far too bereft of drama to capture the public's
imagination or, what is more important, to demand an individual's
attention to the value or otherwise of teeth and to the truth of
associated slogans. Against the background of previous Reports
describing activities and plans for future care it seemed appropriate,
in this current summary, to deal with the motivation of
preventive dental health. No teeth, false teeth, bad teeth, good
teeth for life, all are equally available and it is the individual's
privilege in a democracy to make his or her own choice. Provided