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has been done to educate the public, but the mass of inertia in this respect is still
heavy. Any assistance that can be given in regard to this educational work is very
welcome.
The Dental Board of the United Kingdom, in April, 1931, drew the Council's
attention to their portable dental exhibit, and their service of trained demonstrators.
It was agreed by the Education Committee that, as an experiment, permission should
be granted for demonstrations to be given to the older children in eight Islington
schools. In every case the report of the head teacher on the results of the demonstration
was favourable.
The following report from one of the head teachers concerned is an example
which is typical of the whole :
I beg to report upon the dental demonstration given in my school on 21st January by a
lecturer from the Dental Board of the United Kingdom. The demonstration in every way was
highly successful; the lecturer had a splendid command of her subject, and the ability to get
into touch with her audience quickly and to hold their attention ; the models she brought were
admirably chosen to illustrate the process of dentition, and the progress of decay. Both lecturer
and models stimulated the children to ask questions both of the lecturer and of their mistresses.
The science mistresses on the stall were highly delighted with the demonstration and used one of
the models to illustrate a point that had arisen in the course of the physiology lessons. As the
school course includes hygiene and elementary physiology, the demonstration fits into the lessons
and will be referred to again by the mistresses. I hope it will be possible to hear the Board's
lecturer again next year when a new batch has entered the school.
An immediate result of the demonstration was the application by several children for dental
vouchers at the school treatment centre, a thing that rejoiced the heart of the care committee
secretary.
So, both on educational and social service grounds, I would advocate the repetition of the
demonstration given here in other post-primary schools.
As the results were so very successful, it has been decided to ask the Education
Committee to extend the experiment to a further London district, and it is to be
hoped that the exhibit and demonstrations will become a permanent part of the
educational system.
Statistics.
Increased
hospital
accommodation.
Rheumatism scheme.
The following statistics show the operation of the rheumatism scheme during
1931; corresponding figures for the previous year are also shown :—

Dr. Banks Raffle is mainly responsible for the following report on the work of
the rheumatism section :—
During the year 1931 the work of the rheumatism scheme was extended by the
provision of four additional rheumatism supervisory centres and by the provision of
more beds at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton, and High Wood
Hospital for Children, Brentwood, for the residential treatment of those children who
required it.