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Moreover the expectation of dental health is low as people accept as inevitable
that they will lose all their teeth. Thus it is not surprising
that of all adults nearly 37% have no natural teeth and are full denture
wearers.
Unfortunately, the acceptance of dental ill health by adults means that
they accept it for their children as well. A survey in Hammersmith has
shown that at the age of 5 years 74% of children suffer from dental decay,
but only 34% have received any treatment. At the age of 11 years when
the permanent teeth are nearly all present 91% have decay, but only 75%
have received any treatment.
It is extremely difficult to change social attitudes so it would appear
necessary to start dental health education from as early an age as possible.
For this reason every effort is made to stimulate children's awareness of
the importance of looking after teeth as soon as they start school. The
limiting factor is always the shortage of staff and resources.
Dental Inspections
A record number of 14,591 children were inspected at schools and clinics
during the year of whom 53.5% were found to need treatment. The number
inspected was 61% of the school population and is a step towards the target
of inspecting all school children annually.
As it is not possible to examine all children annually a system of prioritif
has been determined concentrating inspections on the younger age groups
and on special schools. During the year all nursery schools and special
schools were inspected. In addition, 44 out of the 57 primary schools were
inspected.
It is a matter of concern that secondary schools are still not being
adequately cared for and only 4 out of the 15 secondary schools were inspected.
It is hoped, however, that it will be possible to inspect secondary
schools every two or three years.
Staff
The dental staff on 31st December 1971 was:
(1970 in brackets)
Chief Dental Officer 1 (1)
Senior Dental Officer 1 (1)
Full-time Dental Officers 4 (4)
Part-time Dental Officers 1 (0)
Orthodontists; (sessional) 2 (1)
Dental Auxiliary 1 (0)
Dental Surgery Assistants 7 (6)
The past year has been reasonably stable with a good staff position being
maintained throughout. During the year approval was given to an increased
establishment of one Dental Surgery Assistant to work in the Dental Caravan.
Postgraduate Courses
In recent years an increased emphasis has been placed on continuous postgraduate
education for dental staff as a means of keeping up to date with
changing patterns of treatment and new techniques. One result of this is
that it has become very difficult to obtain places on most courses and it
is to be hoped that the number of courses held will increase in the future.
C. 31