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service carry cut this part of their work in the same clinics and at the same time as they treat
the school children under the school dental service. This arrangement for mixing sessions to
enable the family to attend together has proved popular and this service is available atevery
dental surgery. Dental Auxiliaries are trained to treat very young children as a speciality and
it is to the three dental auxiliaries on our staff that the majority of pre-school children go.
The amount of time devoted to this work has been increased by 48.5% during the year.
The personal dental health of expectant and nursing mothers is of paramount importance and
the assistance of all the health personnel in the borough is invoked to achieve this end. At
this time mothers (and even fathers) are particularly receptive towards dental heal th instruction
and this can be of supreme benefit to them and their children. Likewise the establishment of a
normal routine visit to the dentist long before dental disease is rampant can condition the
toddler to the dental environment and make further treatment much more readily acceptable when
the necessity arises. In clinics where the dental surgery is situated in the same building as a
welfare clinic, mothers and toddlers are encouraged to visit the dentist as soon as possible after
two years of age and once seen the children are 1isted for routine recal1. The routine examination
of toddlers at toddlers clinics is highly desirable but for the time being this essential service
cannot be provided at every toddlers clinic due to shortage of staff. Until it is the following
simple rules can be followed by clinic staff and parents to reduce the potential of dental
disease:
1. NEVER give children undiluted blackcurrant, orange or similar vitamin syrups.
These are exceedingly harmful to teeth if taken from a spoon, bottle or dinky
feeder;
2. Clean teeth immediately after breakfast and last thing at night,if possible
with fluoride toothpaste. Never rely on young children cleaning their own
teeth,' even so they should always be allowed'to have a go'as well as mother.
3. Finish meals withafibrous food such as apples, carrots and nuts and then rinse
mouth with water;
4. Eat full meals at regular intervals throughout the day, but avoid between meal
snacks and sweets whenever possible;
5. Eliminate sticky toffees and long-lasting sweets from the diet. It is not
unreasonable to allow children the occasional sweet but reasonable restrictr
ions can make a big difference;
6. The ear ly introduction of excessive sugar and sweets to the diet only encourages
a sweet tooth for the restof life. Far better to encourage a taste for savoury
food and fruit to avoid obesity problems as well as achieving better teeth;
7. Above all else the regular attender at the dentist from two yearson will
establisha pattern, achieve minimal treatment as soon as it is necessary and
give the dentist the opportunity to apply topical solutions to the teeth which
will strengthen them against potential future decay.
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