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operation shortly. The arrangements for the year commencing 1st April, 1916, also include an increase
from 660 to 990 in the number of cases to be treated at the Camberwell, Notting Dale and St. Pancras
centres.
Dental defects.—The arrangements for the inspection by the dental surgeons of children in the
contributing schools have been continued. On 31st December, 1915, there were 28 inspecting
dentists working in the schools. 69,516 children were seen, of whom 56,864, or 81.79 per cent., were
found to require treatment.
During the year 44,875 children have been treated at the Council's centres, as compared with
32,439 in 1914 ; the number actually provided for in the centres at work was 47,000. As mentioned
previously, it has not been possible to establish six of the new centres authorised, but the centres
approved at Chelsea and the Women's Hospital for Children were opened during the year. It is hoped
that centres at Seven Dials and Peckham-rye will shortly be ready and that the remaining centres will
commence work during the course of the ensuing year.

The agreements with the various centre committees provide that treatment shall be given to
children of 6, 7 and 8 years of age, and in urgent cases to children of other ages. When the dentist has
visited (usually at the end of a year) all the schools on the rota and inspected the children of 6, 7 and
8, he then, in the second year, inspects the children of 6, 7, 8 and 9, and at subsequent visits in each
succeeding year the age group inspected is extended upwards by one year. If the necessary provision
is made in the course of a few more years, the Council's scheme should enable all children of 6 years of
age and over to be inspected and systematically re-inspected at appropriate intervals. The Council has
recently decided to insert a clause in the agreements providing for the consequential extension of the
ages of the children to be treated.
Following-up and re-inspection of children who are found to present defects.
If the parent is not present the care committee worker visits the home after a short interval to
see the parents and, if necessary, to persuade them to take the necessary action. At all stages of
following-up the care organisation obtains valuable assistance from teachers and school attendance
officers.
The stages of following-up should be entered by the care worker upon the following-up card. In
the case of a child attending a centre where the Council has made arrangements, the card is forwarded
there for the information of the treating doctor and upon it he enters any recommendations he wishes
to make. The following-up card is returned to the school in time for the re-inspection visit of the school
doctor.
For each child reported ailing a re-inspection card is made out in the public health offices and
is forwarded to the school at the beginning of the second term after the inspection has taken place in
order that the school doctor may report upon it what action, if any, has been taken and the results.
Provision is made for the re-inspection of every ailing child during the second term after the
primary inspection, thus giving at least a clear term's interval during which action may be taken and
affording sufficient time in many instances for a just opinion to be formed as to the results.

The care committee worker is informed of the date of re-inspection and in the majority of instances
during 1915 she attended ; if this is the case she learns directly from the doctor whether the result is
satisfactory or not, and is able to give him valuable information as to the general circumstances of the
cases. When the care committee representative is not present at re-inspection the results are sent to
her by post in order that she may take the necessary further action in cases still outstanding. In the
Unsatisfactory or uncompleted cases, a further re-inspection is made in the second term after the first
re-inspection. Complete returns of re-inspections can never be made owing to the loss of many children
through removal, but a sufficiently large proportion of the children are re-inspected to enable the results
of following up to be gauged.
During 1915, 78,308 children requiring treatment were seen at first re-inspection, while 4,394
children due for first re-inspection had removed; 37,663 children were seen at second re-inspection visits.
In addition, 13,767 children noted "for observation" were seen at first reinspection and 6,693 of these
at second reinspection. 6,966 were marked off as cured.
Tables are given in the appendix showing the detailed results of the 115,971 re-inspections of the
children requiring treatment. 32.6 per cent. of the children had been treated with satisfactory results
on first re-inspection, 9.7 per cent. had been under treatment but could not be said to be cured, 15.6 per
32681 D 2