View report page

308
THE SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE
Report of the Principal School Dental Officer
Annual Reports from 1965 contain a great deal of information
concerning the background, thoughts and evolution of the school
dental service in this Borough. It is possibly not without interest,
but very probably with substantial benefit, for us to review our
earlier philosophies and to note their gradual realisation over
the years.
Statistical data obtained by the clinical survey in 1968, and
appended to the Report of that year, drew attention to the poor
dental health of the Borough's children and to the need for considerable
expansion in the service if it was not to become merely a
token effort.
Dental disease is an unnecessary and avoidable condition
and previous Reports disclose our deeply held conviction that,
for the preservation and maintenance of the oral health of the
school population, an effective and numerically adequate dental
service is essential. Medical history is replete with sagas concerning
the conquests of diseases such as tuberculosis, scurvy and
plague brought about mainly by enlightenment and education.
Perhaps, in the not too distant future, the same may be written of
dental caries and gingivitis, both of which are now endemic. It
is all the more depressing, therefore, to have to record that,
although we have achieved a first class service, its availability to
children in general is somewhat circumscribed.
Unfortunately, expansion of the service depends not only upon
recruitment of additional staff but also upon the furnishing of
facilities. Provision of dental surgeries and equipment hinges upon
finance and availability of premises and although since 1965 the
number of surgeries has doubled, needs and demands combine to
outstrip resources. Such a situation will undoubtedly persist, even
after the reorganisation due on 1st April, 1974.
It is gratifying to note, en passant, that our endeavours have
not gone unnoticed by the population we aim to serve (as demonstrated
by the highest attendance rate per session of the Inner
London Boroughs) but, despite maximum efforts by all concerned
the service again failed to meet the demand arising from parental
requests. Nevertheless, it was capable of examining 11,000