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120
ANNUAL REPORT OF PRINCIPAL SCHOOL DENTAL OFFICER 1971
This is the seventh annual report and looking back over these years, one
reflects on all the changes and progress made by the dental service of the Inner
London Education Authority. Two salient features are uppermost in one's mind,
firstly the unique nature of the Inner London Education Authority dental service
resulting in the opportunity for sharing ideas with colleagues in other inner
London boroughs, and secondly the help and encouragement given at the local
level by all the staff of our own Health Directorate in Lambeth.
Staffing
Without both adequate and suitable staff any plans for maintaining and
improving the service are made null and void. The recruitment of dental officers
still shows a satisfactory position and the appointment of full time staff is at
present much easier. Paedontics requires a special understanding of children and
a combination of patience, skill and tolerance. The treatment of children, especially
from some special schools can be very demanding but our dental officers are
able to manage the difficult child if sufficient time is given for their treatment.
A dental officer is dependent on his or her supporting staff and the role
of the dental surgery assistant cannot be overestimated. The dental surgery
assistant duties demand understanding of children, tact and cheerfulness
when dealing with children and parents, knowledge or surgery procedures and
ability to cope with clerical work. The dental surgery assistant recruitment is
not nearly as satisfactory as for dental officers and this is due to a large extent
to the comparatively low salary scale especially for younger entrants to the
service.
The staff in position as at 31st December, 1971 was as follows
Principal School Dental Officer
Senior Dental Officer
3 Full Dental Officers
7 Sessional Dental Officers (2.6 F.T. equivalent)
1 Dental Auxiliary
8 Dental Surgery Assistants (1 Vacancy).
2 Sessional Anaesthetists were also employed.
Provision of services
Eight surgeries are now in operation, one staffed by a dental auxiliary
and at the end of the year only 3 sessions were available for expanding the
service. It was a great disappointment that completion of the replacement
for Clapham Park S.T.C. with two surgeries was delayed and this has resulted