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14
Not only has the percentage of children with sound teeth increased in 1936,
but the percentage of those with serious, as opposed to slight, decay has declined,
and few.er " bad mouths " were found than ever before.
It must be remembered, however, that these figures represent only the
impressions recorded by the school doctors, and do not correspond with the findings
of the school dentists making special inspections with mirror and probe. Nevertheless,
the continued improvement, especially as regards the diminution of oral sepsis,
is noteworthy.
Vision.
All children in elementary schools, other than entrant infants, have their
distant visual acuity tested by means of the Snellen cards, those whose defects have
been corrected having their vision tested wearing their glasses. The results for
1935 and 1936 are given in the table below in percentages, column 1 containing
those with normal visual acuity, column 2 those with slight defect, and column 3
those with more serious defect.

Satisfaction was expressed in recent reports that the excessive incidence of
visual defect on older girls compared with the boys, which was formerly such a
striking result of school medical inspection returns, had diminished as the result, it
was thought, of improvements in school hygiene such as by a rule of the Education
Committee that sewing should not be done by artificial light unless the school
medical officer has given his consent after examination of the lighting in each case.
The figures for 1936 show that there is again a heavier incidence upon older
girls, although the excess of visual defect in girls is much less than in former years.
Enlarged
tonsils and
adenoid
growths.
In the prescribed age groups 6,808 children were referred for some form of
treatment of enlarged tonsils or adenoid growths; this is 5-0 per cent, of the
children examined compared with 6-6 per cent, in 1931, 6-7 per cent, in 1930, and
7 per cent, in 1929. These nose and throat conditions are found chiefly among
the entrant group, many of the children in the older groups having already been
dealt with before their examination in those age groups. The percentages requiring
treatment for these conditions in the individual age groups were : entrant boys 8 • 5,
girls 7-6 ; 7-year-old boys 4-7, girls 5-2 : 11-year-old boys 1-6, girls 2-1.
There has been a fall in recent years in the percentage of children referred for
treatment for enlarged tonsils and adenoid growths. The older the children the
fewer there are that suffer from ear, nose and throat defects.
Many cases found with slight degrees of defect are not referred for treatment
but are placed under observation.
The proportion of those recorded as having enlarged tonsils and adenoid
growths who were referred for treatment was 45 per cent, compared with 39 per cent,
in 1935, 38 per cent, in 1933 and 1934, and 43 per cent, in 1932.
Of the 6,808 children referred for treatment for these defects, 4,683 were referred
for enlarged tonsils only, 704 for adenoid growths only, and 2,507 for both enlarged
tonsils and adenoid growths.
Otorrhoea
and hardness
of hearing.
Otorrhoea was noted in 911 children, or -7 per cent, of those examined in the
prescribed age groups, compared with -8 per cent, in 1935, -9 per cent, in 1934,
•8 per cent, in 1933 and in 1932, and with 1 per cent, in 1931 and 1930. In no year
prior to 1930 was the percentage of children with " running cars " less than one :