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Dental Treatment
It is encouraging to note that by the end of 1971 there had been an increase in the
number of Dental Surgeons and Dental Auxiliaries working full-time for the
borough. The number of children seen in the schools has almost trebled, indeed
nearly every school in Lewisham was visited by a dental officer. Those children
not seen were mainly in the very senior groups where the children were difficult to
locate especially in examination time. Fortunately the increase in staff and the
opening of the Jenner Health Centre allowed us to cope with the increased workload
resulting from the School Dental Inspections.
There has been a slight drop in the treatment sessions devoted to the pre-school
child and expectant mothers. This was caused, to some extent, by the temporary
closure of the clinic at Deptford and the necessary re-organisation which followed.
Greenwich Schools
There are, close to the Lewisham border, several schools whose pupils attend our
Treatment Centres on a regular basis, so it has been agreed that Lewisham will
accept full responsibility for the dental health of these children. The arrangement
is possible only because of the improvement in accommodation at Reginald Square
and will cease if more suitable facilities become available to the children.
There has been a general improvement in the amount of work done in the clinics,
particularly the increased ratio of permanent teeth conserved to those extracted and
it is hoped that this trend will continue.
SCHOOL FOR DENTAL AUXILIARIES
Mr. T. H. Liptrot, Director, reports: —
The Children's Dental Clinic associated with the School for Dental Auxiliaries
continued to receive the support of the Health Department of the London Borough
of Lewisham. The personal contact, interest and co-operation of Mrs. Clare
Leeming, the Borough's Chief Dental Officer, was greatly appreciated by the staff
and students. The authority's staff, led by the Senior Dental Officer, Mrs. Shillito,
have contributed much to the work of the clinic.
It has now become possible by increasing the number of inspections of children
in schools and those recalled for regular examination, to bring under control the
long lists of patients awaiting treatment.
The school is fortunate in having the continued co-operation of the head teachers
and staffs of the schools it serves. Without such help our task would be more difficult
and we would achieve less.
During 1971 the auxiliary students, under the supervision of the dental surgeons
on the staff of the school, carried out nearly 10,000 fillings in permanent and
deciduous teeth for schoolchildren in the area.
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