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DENTAL INEPECTION AND TREATNEBT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN 1946
Report by Miss Winifred M. Hunt. Senior Dental Officer
The school population is 8,430 and the staff consists of two fulltime
Dental Officers, Miss w. M. Hunt as. Senior and Miss D. A. Young,
and two Dental Attendants Pro-school children are also treated.
Inspections.
4,805 (routine 3,421, special 1,384). These consisted of
children attending Primary and Secondary Schools in the Borough.
The interval between routine inspections is now almost two years,
having increased steadily throughout the year. It is responsible for
the large number of specials (1,384) which are over 400 more than in
1945, and 600 more tir n in 1944. Many of these are not ordinary casual
or emergency cases, but children who imagine that they must have missed
a school inspection because of the lapse of time. It is unfortunate
that much of the good of previous treatment may'be lost through
bel ted re-inspection, A high proportion of parents show their
interest by attending at the school inspections and this naturally
does not nwke for speed. In 42 sessions 3,421 children (less than
half those on the registers) were inspected, which was an average of
8l per session. Ala souths were charted, in full and consent caras
given for pa rent1 s .signature. Of these, 2,787 or 80% were found to
be defective, while of the total inspections the number was 4,271'Or
89%. '
Treatment.
3,427 children received treatment in 794 sessions. The acceptance
rate is 80% which 'could be improved with adequate staff.
•'
Fillings - 65636 (permanent teeth 6,170)
. (temporary teeth 460)
Our aim is for quality in conservative work, as it is- felt that
this is one of.the best-ways of encouraging acceptance of treatment
on future occasions. .
Extractions - 394-93 (permanent teeth 418)
'temporary teeth 3,075)
There were 876 adninistr tions of nitrous oxide under which about 60%
of the extractions were performed. In the remaining 40% a local
anaesthetic was employed. It will be seen from the filling and
extraction tot-Is th t there were nearly 2 fillings to 1 extraction,
whereas in permanent teeth there were 15' fillings to 1 extraction.
taking into account the fact that 240 permanent teeth were extracted
for regulation purposes, 35 permanent fillings were inserted for every
permanent tooth lost by disease.
Other operations - 4,021 (permanent teeth 339)
(temporary teeth 3,132)
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