View report page

17
The good result which would follow the inspection and care of the children's teeth is shown by
the high percentage of children from the Lambeth Parish Schools apparently possessing perfect teeth
Some of these children were born in the workhouse, but most were admitted between 7 and 9 years of
age. On admission they undergo a dental inspection and have any treatment required. After that
they are frequently inspected by a nurse, and twice yearly by a dentist. Each child cleans its teeth in
the morning and last thing at night, and the result is that 76 per cent. of these workhouse children are
free from obvious dental disease, whereas only 30 per cent. of the other children in the school are without
noticeable caries.
At Buckingham Street School, Dr. Rowntree noted the dental condition in 1,017 children and
obtained results practically identical with those from the Dulwich schools.
These inspections give results which shew the serious damage already done, and the evidence
of this in an early stage would have undoubtedly been much greater had the medical Inspector used
the methods with probe and mirror which a skilled dentist adopts in his work.
The caries has different significance according to whether the temporary or permanent dentition
is affected, and the correct recording of this is not always easy without dental experience. Most important
with a view to the child's future is the condition of the first permanent teeth the " six year
old molars." For this reason the full value of the facts will only be appreciated when they have been
collected and analysed by a competent dental examiner.
In continuation of the work of medical inspection done by Dr. C. J. Thomas at the Michael Faraday
School, and recorded last year, Mr. C. Edward Wallis, who acts as dental surgeon to the Council's Industrial
Schools, kindly volunteered to systematically examine and record the condition of the mouths
and teeth of the children at this school. This examination is a record of actual conditions, and in contradistinction
to the previous statements which are underestimated in that only obvious conditions
presenting themselves on simple inspection have been noted by the medical examiners. The children
were examined in groups according to the years of age. Charts were used based on those for the
examination of Poor Law Schools by the British Dental Association in 1901, but amplified to shew
any correlation between condition of teeth and physical condition. (The examination has been a very
thorough one, each tooth being carefully inspected with a dental mirror, and tested with a probe.)
Time so far has only permitted of 245 children being examined. The 245 children had on an average
3.9 carious temporary and 2.8 carious permanent teeth each. 9.3 per cent. had alveolar abscesses or
fistulae discharging pus. 16.3 per cent chronic pharyngitis, 29 per cent. shewed chronic enlargement
of tonsils, 61.2 per cent. had enlarged submaxillary lymphatic glands. Anaemia was noted in 37 per
cent.
Age
approx.
Boys
born in.
No. examined.
Carious
teeth
temporary.
Carious
teeth
permanent.
Average per child
carious.
Temporary
Permanent,
Purulent
alveolar
abscess or
dental
fistulae.
Chronic
Pharyngitis.
Enlarged
tonsils.
Enlarged
Submax
lymphatic
glands.
Anæmia.
Boys.
9 1897 45 318 99 7.1 2.2 9 8 3 40 3
10 1898 43 225 107 5.2 2.5 3 1 8 37 8
11 1895 37 141 113 4.0 3.0 3 8 9 35 4
12 1894 39 62 158 1.6 4.0 1 9 22 39 7
Girls.
9 1897 44 251 112 5.7 2.5 4 7 14 36 39
10 1896 37 155 96 4.2 2.6 3 6 16 31 27
Total ... 245 1,152 685 27.8 16.8 23 39 72 218 88
Mr. Wallis notes that at the ages dealt with the permanent dentition is incomplete so that the
incidence of dental caries is really worse than appears here. In most cases the permanent teeth become
carious within two years of their eruption, which emphasises the necessity for dental treatment at an
early age to preserve them. The most striking feature observed is the neglect of dental cleanliness,
and absence of any evidence of dental treatment, beyond a few instances in which teeth have been extracted
or broken. Only three of these 245 children possessed tooth brushes and showed signs of having
used them regularly, and these three were practically free from caries. Bacterial deposits, tartar,
remains of food, and every degree of malodorousness and sepsis were evident. Many children were
suffering from undue retention of temporary teeth. Decomposing debris of food, and bacterial toxins
produced in decaying teeth cavities become a constant source of ill health and debility. These causes
are well recognised as the origin not only of chronic septic conditions, but also of conditions occasionally
having fatal results.
Most especially important is cleanliness of the mouth in children, as it has recently been shown
by observations at the London Fever Hospital that the serious septic complications of scarlet fever,
middle ear suppuration, septic adenitis, albuminuria, gangrenous stomatitis, septic gastritis, and so on
are all much commoner and more severe where oral sepsis is marked.
Anaemia was commoner among the girls than the boys in this school, but this difference of
condition was not ascribed to dental conditions
In most cases with extensive dental disease, the physical condition as shown by height and weight
measurements fell below the average for their age.
12006
c