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hygienists to chart the mouths of all children in the schools, and at the same time
carry out prophylactic work where required. In view of the disturbance to the school
routine, this practice was discontinued and a simpler form of charting was introduced.
To assist in securing the attendance of the children at the clinic, which is at a
considerable distance from some of the schools, arrangements have been made for
a conveyance to call at these schools to collect the children to be treated and to take
them to the clinic. The parents are notified in advance and are invited to be at
the clinic when the treatment is being given. The work, undertaken under the
direction of Mr. C. L. Endicott, L.D.S., is of a high order and, whilst a complete
dental service is provided for the schools allocated to the Eastman clinic, the withdrawal
of the schools from the centres to which they were previously attached has
not materially affected those centres, as it has been possible to concentrate on the
remaining schools and thus keep the centres fully occupied. In view of this and
having regard to the work undertaken for which the Council would otherwise have
ultimately had to make provision, it was decided, after renewed application for
financial assistance, that for the year ended 31st March, 1936, the Council would
make a grant to the Eastman clinic authorities of £500. A similar amount has been
agreed to for the year ending 31st March, 1937. The work of the clinic is not confined
to the treatment of children from the 16 allocated schools, but treatment is given
to any children in the area served whose parents wish to apply. In addition to the
4,234 cases from the allocated schools dealt with during the year 1936, treatment
was given to 11,007 children from unallocated schools who attended of their own
volition.
An experimental orthodontic scheme was inaugurated in September, 1934, by
Mr. Bertram Samuel, who was then the Council's consulting dental surgeon, at five
centres in different districts of London. The centres selected were Battersea,
Deptford, Hammersmith, Prunella and St. Mary Newington. The construction of
appliances for orthodontic cases was undertaken at the Council's dental laboratory
then at St. James's hospital, Balham, and provision was also made for X-ray photographs
to be taken when necessary at certain of the Council's general hospitals.
Owing, however, to the great pressure of work at the small dental laboratory in
connection with the provision of dentures for patients at the general hospitals, it
became impossible to obtain within reasonable time the increased number of appliances
required by the orthodontic centres. The scheme consequently was held in
abeyance in March, 1936, so far as the five centres referred to were concerned, but
about the same time Major-General J. P. Helliwell, the Council's consulting dental
surgeon, ascertained that the dental surgeon at the Bermondsey Medical Mission
hospital dental centre (Miss E. M. Still, L.D.S.), who had considerable experience in
orthodontic work, was able to undertake orthodontic treatment by means, to a large
extent, of the fixed type of appliance which did not necessarily require the services
of a dental mechanic and which she was usually able to make in her own laboratory.
Arrangements were therefore made for suitable cases in the district to be dealt with
at the centre, and the first session was held at the Bermondsey Medical Mission
hospital on 22nd April, 1936. One session a week was at first allowed for this work,
but from 1st September, 1936, two sessions a week have been necessary. During
the period from April to 31st December, 1936, 44 special sessions were held, the
number of new cases seen was 88, and 574 attendances were made. Fifteen children
have been discharged, treatment having been completed, one lapsed, and 72 were
still under treatment at the end of the year. In 7 cases treatment by extraction
only was needed, in 69 fixed appliances were made and in 3 removable appliances
were provided. With regard to the work undertaken, the subjoined report has been
received from Miss Still:—
The types of cases treated may be sub-divided as follows :—
(a) Angle's class I (the most frequent type).—Normal molar occlusion, with crowding and/or
irregularity of the incisor teeth ; usually one incisor in the upper jaw locked inside the lower
incisors. Under treatment: 40 cases. Treated by a fixed appliance in one jaw only. Nine of
the discharged cases were simple examples of this type, the treatment having taken from one
to six months.
Orthodontics.