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the arrangement has been in operation for about two years. The organisers of
the scheme were very anxious to compare the results obtained by this specialised
service with the results of the efforts of a normal centre in the same district.
Permission was, therefore, given for an independent inspection to be undertaken
by Mr. Pitts, D.S.O., M.R.C.S., L.D.S., consulting dental surgeon to the Hospital
for Sick Children, Gt. Ormond-street, the Royal Dental hospital and the Middlesex
hospital, of the children in the two schools attached to the Wick special centre
and in two similar schools, Glyn-road and Sidney-road, attached to the Wick normal
centre.
The following is the report submitted by Mr. A. T. Pitts :—
The inspections on which this report is based were carried out during the months from May
to September, 1931, at the request of the Hon. Arthur Villiers, D.S.O., and by permission of the
London County Council.
The object of the inspection was to ascertain whether the condition of the teeth of those
children who had attended the Wick dental clinic showed any appreciable difference from those
children who had received dental treatment under the ordinary conditions which prevail in the
various dental centres of the London County Council.
The particular features which mark out the work at the Wick dental centre from that at
other clinics is that as far as possible all children attending the Gainsborough-road and Berkshireroad
schools had dental inspection and prophylactic treatment in the form of cleaning and polishing
the teeth carried out by a specially trained dental hygienist attached to the clinic. In addition,
each child is instructed in the proper use of a tooth-brush and the reasons for doing so. A follow-up
system of letters and visits in the case of parents who refuse treatment is in force which has resulted
in a very low percentage of refusals. A number of talks to children in the schools was also given,
amounting to 166 in the period June, 1929, to March, 1930. The special features may be summed
up as an intensive campaign against dental disease among a relatively stable school population
by means of treatment, propaganda and prophylaxis carried out by a staff of dentists, dental
hygienists, and home visitors. This scheme at the Wick dental clinic has now been in force for
two years. It seemed possible, therefore, that the children who had attended this clinic might
show some difference in their dental condition compared with those who had been inspected
and treated in the ordinary way at clinics for which the Council was entirely responsible.
The writer of this report was given an entirely free hand in regard to inspection and collection
of data. This is emphasized to show that there was nothing "tendentious" in the inspection
which was quite independent. The conclusions arrived at represent the views of the writer alone.
It was decided to take a number of children of each age group from 6 to 14 inclusive, from
those children at Gainsborough and Berkshire-road schools, who had attended the Wick dental
clinic, and a similar number of children of the same age groups from Glyn-road and Sidney-road
schools where the children had received treatment at a Council clinic. An attempt was made to
select 50 of each group, and to inspect an equal number of boys and girls, but various difficulties
arose, and it was found that in some groups the number exceeded 50 and in others fell short of
that number, while the number of controls was 88 fewer than the children treated at the Wick
clinic. The discrepancies in the various age groups were not great, and, though it has made the
task of comparison more difficult, I am of opinion that the results of the inspection have not
been invalidated thereby. The arrangements were made by the Council, through Dr. Livingston,
the consulting dental surgeon to that body, who arranged that the heads of the schools should
be notified and facilities for inspection provided. The selection of children for inspection at the
Gainsborough and Berkshire-road schools was much aided by the services of Miss Bennett,
organising secretary of the Wick special centre, who, being familiar with the schools and known
to the teachers, was able to arrange that all children seen at these schools had been treated at
the Wick clinic. It should be made clear, however, that there was no attempt to select favourable
cases for inspection, but, since there were many children at these two schools who had never
received treatment at the Wick clinic because they had come from other districts and had received
treatment elsewhere, it was obviously necessary to see that the children inspected had in fact been
to the Wick clinic. The only selection was to see that a roll was prepared of a definite number of
children in each age group with an equal proportion of boys and girls so as to eliminate any waste
of time at the periods of inspection. At the control schools preliminary work of this kind was
unnecessary, as none of the children had attended the Wick clinic. Dr. Livingston accompanied
me at each inspection, and also inspected the children, but his inspection was independent of mine.
We used a similar form on which to record data but we did not compare results or make any
effort to agree on our charting of the mouths. Thus the data on which this report is based were
entirely obtained by me and have not even been seen by Dr. Livingston.
The form used provides columns in which to record the condition of teeth, carious being
graded into slight, saveable and unsaveable, both for temporary and permanent dentitions.
The name and age group are given. There is a column for gums and general condition, articulation,
normal, treated and sound, date of last treatment, and notes. As a rule no particular note was
taken of the articulation, exoept that any obvious irregularity was briefly noted. The date of
the last treatment was filled up later by Miss Bennett from the record cards at the Wick clinic.
In the case of the controls this column was left blank as these data were not easily available and
Method of
inspection.